General Chat

7 degrees here pale blue sky with clouds. Tesco 10 - 11

Morning all,

Cloudy here this morning which is a shame but it is dryand I don't htink there is any wind.

Annx you asked about the mower, it has the deck fitted underneath between the front and back wheels. Its driven by thick belts and it will fit the old mower so that can be used on the front field and down the edges of the road. Its a mulching deck so it dos'nt collect the grass cuttings.

I am doing a nice easy dinner today may even put it in the slow cooker chicken mini fillets with carrot leeks celery and cooked in a mushroom soup. May have pots may have rice hav'nt made up my mind yet.

Pc is telling me expect 5 rainy days in a row which is'nt good as once it starts here it dos'nt know when to stop. When I first looked it said 7 degrees but its just changed to 9 degrees. O its just brightened up a bit wwith a little sun, I hope it stays.

Morning all,

Cloudy here but I dont think we had any frost this morning , shopping day and we have several places to go ,Boots for our tablets, butchers for meat ,Roys for some bits ,I thought I might get some cosmos seed and Aldi so that will be a morning gone .

Ann I had tumbling toms in wall pots on the fence but they were small pots and they did better last year when I put then in my planters ,I had three plants in one long planter ,I think the pots on the fence were to small and they soon dried out .

We had our brown bin delivered yesterday and it's full already as we had filled tubs so I just tipped them in .

Anng thats a nice assortment of plants ,is it the garden club meet today .

Better get on we want to go a bit earlier than we normally do as we've more places to go to .

Good morning all. 1 degree here at the moment just gone up from 0. Sun is shining though.
Meeting this afternoon out of our total of 11 people it looks like there will only be 5 of us. We have two fallen with leg and ankle injuries, one on holiday, two have family things and one with a virus. At least that is fewer chairs and cups to get out I suppose.
No less work to do though really. I am sure that we will still have plenty to chat about.

The tumbler is to go in a basket as last year it did very well the. So I hope to repeat it.. I can’t see why it shouldn’t do as well in wall pots.

I meant to ask you what you had bought too AnnG! I have had Fusilier before and it has pretty I think red flowers. I must look the others up as I particularly like Salvias and Heucheras. I am in two minds whether to put tumbler type tomatoes in my two wall pots at the back instead of flowers this year. I'm going to be busy with changing things indoors and outdoors but it would be nice to grow a few things to eat.

I meant to tell you the plants I bought.

Heuchera cherry ruffles,
Geum double blazing sunset
Salvia caradonna purple
Salvia marvel rose
Argyranthemum white
Miniature dianthus Fusilier
Courgette
Sage
Tumbler tomato

Yes this covid jab is for the over 75s Mandy, as OH checked when he wasn't called and I was called. You are right OH doesn't need more worry, as there seems to have been problems to sort out every step of the way and with pain as well I think it would wear anyone down if you thought there were more problems before the current ones were sorted. As you say they ought to explain why more tests are needed and what they are for. Not so long ago we were being told we should be involved in decisions about our health and treatment, but it isn't quite working as it should. No, I didn't see the Camellia there either. I think I will look online and see if I can spot one and make a note of the name of it to ask for.

Yes, OH has aspirin in the morning now so has to have breakfast. One of mine taken in the morning doesn't get absorbed properly if you eat or drink anything with calcium in at the same time so I've carried on not having breakfast, or have it later.

Yes that covering 2 months with the HB1Ac test stops the last minute diet doesn't it! It's a shame you didn't fit a lunch in with your friends today, but it was a good day with what you managed to buy. I remember when OH had his cataracts done and looked in a mirror the first thing he noticed was how many wrinkles he'd not seen before!! lol.

Vera your OH's cataracts will soon be sorted at this rate and it's good he doesn't have to wait long. You are to be a chauffeur or is it chauffeuse? for a few weeks like I was recently then. My word your surgery are quick getting your next jabs booked!

Mel what will you be cooking for Stu this time? Is the mower deck the bit with the blades that attaches to the mower itself and can it be attached to any mower?

Doc sent me a text about booking a covid jab but I am over 75 now and also being on my own I am on the list for one anyway.

Iv'e just come in again from the garden after lighting another bonfire and now I stink so I am going in the shower and then having scrambled eggs on toast.

Thank you ladies ,I expect Colin will get a letter in the post as usual the six months is next month .
I suppose my next one will be with the flu jab when the years up in November ready for the winter .

Mandy, like AnnG I was called by my surgery and offered the jab and I also had a letter from the NHS. I'm pretty certain it is for over 75s or younger people who are particularly vulnerable.

I forgot to mention earlier that we have had mice back in our garage as we found out when we discovered they had chewed their way into 3 bags of compost and even got into a large closed pedal bin. We have to get rid of them and I suggested getting another cat but OH didn't take to that idea. I hate killing any creature and we decided the quickest death for them would be to use a traditional mousetrap. We bought one with some special bait in it and put it down. Two weeks later the mice were still active and the trap hadn't been touched so OH decided to go the traditional way and bait the trap with cheese. Well, the old ways are the best. In the last 4 days we have caught 4 mice. I think there must be a whole colony in there!

Mel I always have breakfast as I eat my main meal before 7pm so it is a long time without food. I have natural Greek yoghurt plus blueberries and walnuts. Or weetabix and blue berries or toast

Mandy I was called to book a slot for the Covid vote by my surgery, and also had a reminder from NHS. Pretty sure it is over 75.

Vera your OH has struck lucky there and he will soon be exclaiming how clear and bright everything is.

Evening all,

Nice to see we're back to normal again thanks to Jamie.

That's good your dermatology appointment went well Gwyn ,I was also going to ask if on your walks you've seen if the swans were nesting again .

Ann I'm glad you've managed to sort out all these things for OH ,it's a worry when they ask for these repeat tests ,the first thing you think is there's must be something wrong , they should say when they ask for these repeat tests what they are for and why , OH doesn't need all the worry .
Did you manage to find the Camellia you wanted .

Anng shame you missed a lunch when you were out ,your tummy would have been ready for something when you got home but you got your plants so that was good .

Mel we always have toast or cereal at breakfast rather than have tablets on an empty tummy ,I don't think I could go without until lunch time .

Vera thats quick work on the cataract op for OH and I see you've both had your covid jabs today .

Ladies can I ask if you had letters about booking the covid jabs , and is this one for the over 75's do you know.
We had the last one in November so if they are only doing the over 75's it would just be Colin due for his next month when the six months is up and I won't get one until they say over its for the over 70's.

I’m pleased to see the thread is back to normal now. Thank you Jamie.

That sounds like a good tour round the garden centres AnnG. Shame you didn’t get lunch but at least you found some plants and a top.

I’m glad your dermatology appointment went well Gwyn. Your walk sounded lovely, there’s something about lambs that make everyone smile.

My goodness Annx your OH didn’t need anything else to worry him. What a performance with your surgery. At least he now knows that the tests didn’t show anything sinister and he has been referred for the NHS rheumatology treatment. It’s always nice to catch up with friends but what a to-do sorting out your phone when you got back.

Weatherwise it’s been a strange day. Up until about 3 pm it was grey and cold with a bitter wind, then suddenly the sun came out and it quickly got warm, though not as hot as it has been. We had to leave home by 8.30 this morning to go to the clinic for OH’s cataract assessment. My goodness, they are moving fast. He is booked in for the first eye to be done in 3 weeks, for his post op check 2 weeks after that and then his 2nd eye to be done 2 weeks later. I am jealous as the hospital waiting list is quite long but mine will be done at the hospital because of the treatment I’ve been having there. I can see I’ll have several weeks of being the chauffeur. I did get lost once on the way back but that was down to the stupid sat nav on OH’s phone. It told me to take the first exit at the next roundabout which I did and found myself going round and round a large business cum retail park. Then OH realised that his sat nav probably didn’t recognise this feature as a roundabout because it was a large raised circle on the road and I was meant to take the first exit at the next roundabout we came to. Anyway once we’d got back on the right road we were OK.

Then it was a quick sandwich and a walk to our local surgery for our Covid jabs and we are already booked in for the next Covid and the flu jabs in October.

I feel I’ve done nothing today but now I’d better go and check on the pork casserole in the oven and prepare some more veg to go with it.

I never eat till about 2pm anyway Anng and I don't have anything for breakfast just a coffee. Glad you found a top and some nice plants so not a wated trip.

Annx your poor oh getting himself in a tizzy again and it sounds like it waas all for nothing but its good to keep on top of all these people so you do get things done. I too had to have a second blood test after my one in January about sugars being high but what do they expect just after Christmas. Anyway had the second one last week but nobodys rung me to say what the results were.

Been back out int he garden and picked up all I had cut off and theres still more brambles too cut down and then have a good sweep up.

Stu rang to ask what days best for me and I told him tomorrow as I was gardening he said thas better for him too and he's going to come in his landrover to pull the old mower out of the leanto so we can get the mower deck off as thats a mulchy one so no need to pick up the cuttings.

I was so hot I came in for a drink and to take some clothes off as I was baking working in the sun. I desperately need a drink my tongue is like the bottom of a bird cage.

Good to see the thread is back to normal Mel. Thank you JAMIE.

Ann that was a bit of a run around from the surgery for your poor other half, glad he has more or less sorted it now. Yes they always do two blood tests for blood sugar.Lyn tells me that the test will give a result that covers a couple of months blood sugar (No, I don't know how that works either) She always says it is no good going on a strict diet for a couple of weeks before.

Pleased you had a nice time with your friend.


I actually got taken out to three garden centres this morning. Started at Roses for coffee, then three Shires, then Trioscape. Only problem for me was, no cakes to eat with coffee, so fully expected we would stop for lunch/snack at Trioscape. But, no, we were not having lunch. By the time I got home for lunch it was 2 O'clock, a long time after my one slice of toast at 0815.
I was all prepared to buy them lunch as well

However I did get some plants (so plenty of work to be done now, Plus a couple of small plants from Karen's garden. And a top from three shires. Managed to get a tumbler tomato plant as well which will be for a basket.

Afternoon All,

A cloudy, cool start but it's glorious again now.

I'm glad all was well at your dermatology follow up appointment Gwyn and that you had a nice walk and saw some lambs. I meant to ask before whether your Swans are back this year?

Mel have you managed to count Robby's chicks?

Poor OH got a text yesterday morning saying the GP who requested the further bowel test wanted him to make a telephone appointment about the result, but when he rang there were no appointments available for her for a fortnight (like many other GPs now she works part time).No result of the recent test was online and we couldn't understand why one had been necessary anyway after a clear test before christmas and a clear colonoscopy with biopsies done. This got him worried and very down again together with the fact that the surgery had had the rheumatologist's report over a week and no-one had yet referred him for NHS treatment requested in the letter. Also that another blood test had been requested and he didn't know why and neither did the nurse who did it. Also that no-one was doing anything about his blood sugar level that tipped into diabetes. He already had an appointment for yet another blood test this morning so I suggested he make an appointment with another doctor if he could rather than worry for over a fortnight and also ask about the referral being done and the diabetes. Luckily he got an appointment this morning with the GP who referred him to the private rheumatologist, so she knew his background and did it straightaway and enclosed a copy of his letter. She said OH would have to wait a while for an appointment, but that he may even see the same rheumatologist, as he does NHS work as well. As for the bowel test, like us she couldn't fathom why it had been requested or why he needed to see anyone about it and said the result that had come back was clear anyway. She told him today's blood test was another check of his blood sugar, and that they always do two to be sure. Even if it is the same, she said it was slightly over and not of concern, also that his diet and weight loss will change it. She told him there was nothing to worry about in any of his tests and that he'd been through such a lot and his body had had such a shock it would affect results for a while. He came home much happier. We called at Costa for a coffee and he bought two more books on offer from Waterstones. This afternoon he is at a council meeting and tonight he's off to a match with his friend.

I met up with my friend yesterday and we had a good catch up and a sandwich with salad. Something else newfangled I haven't seen before. The staff had ipad sized screens on straps over their shoulders that they tapped your order out on and it connected remotely to the payment reader they put on the table for you to swipe your payment card. We've moved on from Mrs Overall and her notepad and pen haven't we!! It was so noisy there and the schools don't even break up till this friday. OH had phoned me twice and I didn't hear my phone ring because of the noise and when I got home he said my voicemail had stopped working as well. We checked my phone was ringing but not going to voicemail, I checked settings and rang my provider as it's important OH can contact me. Someone with poor english told me my phone should be activated, but sent me an 8 digit code and told me to enter digits 1 and 4 in my phone. You couldn't make it up as digits 1 and 4 were actually 1 and 4!! lol. I then had to enter a code with 15 characters, 5 of which were asterisks which he just couldn't pronounce, so that took a while to sort out. All is well again now though so it was probably an update their end that caused the problem.

I've done some admin and need to order a skip for when the work starts in July, but am going outside to start filling the garden bin again first. There's a pepper? shrub I planted between the Camellias years ago. evergreen, small leaves and prettty red stems, but growth is gathering speed now and it is well above the fence and crowding out the Camellias, so I've decided it is too vigorous for our small garden and has to go.

Just come in from the garden been cutting down the old wind flower stems and brambles.

Nice you enjoyed your walk Gwyn did you go far?

Better have something to eat and find out which day Stu is coming this week.

Glad you got the posts reinstated Mel :-D

It's turning out to be another busy week and there was me thinking that as it was school holidays, I'd have time for many other things.
Monday, I went for a follow up dermatology appointment, which is part of the 5 year keeping check, after my op. in December 2021.
All was well and I was told that the nurse would see me next year.
They were quick off the mark, before I got home, my daughter said there had been a message to tell me the date of my appointment next April :-0

Lovely walk with a friend yesterday, when we watched young lambs in a field. It was mild and sheltered on the path where we were and it was still warm into the evening, when I didn't wear a coat to go to a meeting in town, but today is much cooler.- 8 degrees and very cloudy.