General Chat

Afternoon All,

Breezy and weak sunshine here so the washing should dry quickly. I pulled a few weeds while I was outside and then watered the borders but the plants don't all look so good now and I think autumn will be here early this year. We went to Ullesthorpe Court and had tuna jackets with salad for lunch which was about the only thing without creamy sauces. We had a long chat with Sharon who we hadn't seen for ages, but we were the only ones there so business isn't like it was once.

Thank you for the Butterfly Garden details AnnG. It's lovely how it all started and just grew and is so popular now. We have seen very few of the tortoiseshell butterflies in the garden this year, but more of the white ones and the Peacock ones that appeared with the self set Buddliah flowers have disappeared again.

I've just booked my car in for MOT, service and the timing belt change as that's due now the car will be 10 years old. I shall have to dig deep into my pockets with the bill for that lot this time, but it will still be cheaper than the dealerships having it done in the village garage.

Mel, that's a bit clearer now, but Stu's family ownerships sound quite complicated! It will be good that our cars will be checked over for their MOTs before winter. It's nice you have more Swallow eggs, but I hope they will be mature enough before winter comes. We saw the Pigeons with two youngsters being fed near the old Magpie nest so it looks like they did use it. They are all using my little water lily feature along with the Magpies now, so I must make an alternative for them. Maybe if I cover the lily feature then they will use it instead hopefully.

I must see what I have and decide whether to enter anything in the village show that's coming up soon next.

Good morning all, 16 degrees so a bit warmer this morning. Had a strange night, took ages (past 2am) to get to sleep then woke twice for the loo but finally slept until 0845 so obviously had enough sleep all together.

Mel awe more baby swallows I hope. When do they all fly off. There were quite a few sitting on overhead wires driving back from MK. (as well as quite a few red Kites.

Vera, I have to admit that often names of things, birds, animals, plants, flowers etc often just wont't 'surface' If I am on the computer I often type in a 'clue' to google to quickly get the word.

Mel that is a complicated family of Stu's you say Dad 'give' the garages to his sons I hope for Stu's sake it is all tied up legally. But checking the car then taking it on for the MOT is not unusual. What is unusual is family having to wait to get it done. the brother must be doing well with the MOT business.

I forgot to say that when BIL went in the filter shed at the weekend a swallow flew out and he said she was sitting. I went in yesterday and theres 4 eggs in the nest again.

Morning girls,

Quite bright this morning and pc says mostly sunny and 12 degrees. I must admit I too had a cardi on yesterday evening as I felt chilly. YOu'll have to excuse my typing with this new keyboard and mouse It has textured keys and I keep catching them with my nails.

I will try to explain about my MOT. Stu's dad Andy used to live and own the garage Stu now has. Andy has parkinsons too and Stu being the eldest also has it. Andy gave Stu the garage and the two other sons had places as well but Andy still owned the garage in Shebbear that was licienced to do MOT's. The checks are done at Stu's garage and then he would take the cars down to Shebbear to get them tested. Andy has now sold the Shebbear garage to his second son Ian and he is so busy that Stu now has to take the cars to Torrinton for the final cert. I don't have to wait anywhere just for Stu to bring my car back to me and then I run him back home.

Evening All.

lt was a cool and overcast day till this evening when the sun came out. OH took the BP record he was asked to keep and saw the doc this morning. His low BP hasn't changed much since stopping one BP pill and he still gets dizzy if he gets up quickly. He had a thorough check up, everything was fine and he had an ECG to be sure this afternoon and they will contact him if needs be. The doc and the senior partner decided to halve his other BP pill and he's to continue his daily BP recording. This pill lists dizziness in the side effects so hopefully the smaller dose will be better for that.

Your poor sister AnnG, no wonder she was exhausted after all that happening and with other health issues too. At least she had a good checkup though and has some medication now and I hope she is feeling better. Taxis are so expensive too, but there's not much choice when it's urgent.

The butterfly garden sounds lovely and a nice place to go. Your black Sedum sounds interesting. I must get out to more garden centres as it is the time to buy Sedums now.

That's good your fence painter has turned up and is well Vera. It doesn't bode well for the rest of us if BT can mess things up with the changeover. As it was his business emails affected and presumably phone I hope he hasn't lost work. It isn't funny I know but the thought of you ending up with 50 litres of the paint sounded like something connected with Victor Meldrew! Hopefully you or the painter should be able to get a refund on the surplus. At least you areback on track for getting the fence painted before winter. It sounds like your OH had a very thorough assessment and it doesn't sound like it's a concern for now. I told OH a while back that I can't recall the word I want to use sometimes and he said it happens to him and he just uses another word instead.

Will you have to wait at Torrington while they MOT your car Mel? I'm confused. Was the MOT centre at Stu's dad's garage and has now moved to Torrington because Stu's brother is there?

I don’t know what the temp is but I have a thick caddy on and I am chilly

No my sister was not on BP medication, she hates having to take any medication as she usually proves to be intolerant of stuff in the pills, not necessarily the medication. She has always had high BP the pill they gave her in hospital took it down from 238;to 185 so they were happy with that. She tried to get a GP appointment and couldn’t, neither did she get anywhere with econsult. So she phoned 111 and they got a doctor to phone her and she now has a supply of the medication.

Hopefully your OH has nothing to worry about. I lose words sometimes although scratching around I can usually manage to retrieve it eventually.

That sounds an interesting place to visit AnnG. I'm glad your sister got home. Is she already on blood pressure tabs? I had a similar thing happen to me at one point. I was already at the hospital for a scan but when they took my bp it was well over 200 and they said they couldn't do the scan unless they could get it down to no more than 180. I was put to bed in a darkened room with a nurse sitting beside me and taking my bp every 15 minutes or so. After about 2 hours it had dropped to 185 and they decided to risk the scan. It was during Covid so OH had to wait in the car park all this time and was getting really worried as I was so long so I think his bp was quite high by the time I reappeared. When I rang the doctor the next day as instructed by the hospital I got an immediate appointment and have been on pills ever since. I hope your sister can get a quick appointment and can get sorted out.

Well, yesterday we went to the memory assessment for OH. We had to ring a bell and wait to be admitted, presumably because it's the mental health unit. We were seen at 1 pm and left the unit at 2.45 pm so it was a long, thorough session. The specialist nurse-prescriber we saw was lovely. I asked if she wanted me to keep quiet or join in the discussions she was having with OH and she said she wanted my input as well but would send me out while he had a few tests. She talked to us about every aspect of his life, physical and mental and made lots of notes, then I was sent out for about 20 minutes while OH did the tests. When I went back she said that the tests weren't bad and he is very borderline. She now has to write a report which will go to the consultant who might ask for a CT scan of his head but might not. Needless to say she is on holiday for a couple of weeks in September and originally said that the first appointment she could give him for the results etc was in October but then she decided to squeeze him in earlier so we have an appointment on 24th September. So, it is wait and see time. Tbh most of the time you wouldn't think there was anything wrong with him, his only problem is sometimes forgetting the word he wants to use or forgetting a name.

I've seen 2 of my neighbours this afternoon and now the window cleaners are here. This house is like Piccadilly in the rush hour today.

Yes sister got home just before 4am as she has fibromyalgia and also secondary breast cancer she is exhausted today and was told the hospital would give her two BP pills to take but then she needs to see a GP. Well I don't know any more at the moment but her GP surgery is like ours and can't see her getting an appointment. As I have been out since 0930 and only just got in, I don't know any more.

OH dear Mel, nothing seems to be going your way lately, that is a pain with the MOT, you would have thought they would have let all their regular customers know about it having been sold.

Vera so luckily, fence paint doesn't usually go off so you will have enough for next time. Hopefully that is the end of that saga.

Just been to Dundrys and had a tour of behind the scenes in what is known as the butterfly garden. so much going on there, from spinning wool, to cooking lunch for themselves, to art, to a large area of 'allotments' with fruit and veg grown, to a wonderful display of Dahlias. And then the recycling. everything that is taken there videos, tapes, CDs tools everything is broken down by students, volunteers etc and then collected by the large recycling firms, pallets are kept and made into bird boxes, bird tables etc. Then there is an open area used as a theatre or social gathering area and a sensory garden, and behind the whole lot a copse of trees where there is a bird hide, we must have been looking around and hearing all about it for two hours. exhausting but so interesting. And so much good done there, none of them are charged for anything and all the disabled people we met, mentally and physically disabled, were so happy and loved to chat. And being holiday time it was apparently a quiet day. And I also bought another Sedem there, really black

It’s cooler again today but feels muggy to me. I wish we could have some proper rain to clear the air a bit.

Sorry to hear about your sister’s BP and her visit to A&E, AnnG. It’s good that the tests were clear and I hope she is home now. That was an expensive taxi fare for her. Last time we had to get a taxi home from our hospital it was £38. If that’s your only way of getting home how on earth does someone on a low income manage?

Sounds as though there was a bit of a lack of communication over the MOT Mel. Hopefully it will pass with flying colours when it’s tested on Tuesday.

You are nearly there with your crochet squares Mandy. I agree with Annx; you must have flying fingers. I’m looking forward to seeing a picture when it is finished.

I said that the speaker for our meeting on Monday was on the programme as TBA. That was me having a senior moment. I had looked at September instead of August. The August speaker was someone from the Wish team, a charity connected with the West Suffolk Hospital, but at the last minute she contacted the lady who books our speakers to say she couldn’t make it. Our booking lady did very well as she turned up with Beetle Drive forms and dice and we just turned it into a social evening. We were down on numbers anyway with only a dozen or so of us there so we had the Beetle Drive till our half time tea break and then chatted about club matters and other things. It was quite a pleasant evening and I got a pair of gardening gloves in the raffle.

The last couple of days have been like Casey’s court here (who was Casey? I’ll have to google). Yesterday morning the big builder’s merchants rang to say they couldn’t get hold of the fence paint we wanted so OH went online himself, found somewhere in Colchester that could supply it and would deliver this week for just £4 so he ordered 25 litres. Then in the afternoon it was OH’s assessment at the memory clinic. More of that later.

This morning there was a ring at the doorbell and there was our original fence painter with 25 litres of paint he had sourced for us. OH was pleased to see him alive and well but of course queried why he hadn’t responded to our emails etc. It turns out he never received them and he was amazed when we showed him what we had sent. Apparently, BT have just converted his area to this new digital phone system and it looks as though it has messed everything up. He has now given us a gmail address which he uses for personal rather than business emails so that’s another way of getting hold of him if things go wrong. So…….he is now reinstated as fence painter and should start next Wednesday and OH has left a message on our substitute’s phone to tell him nicely that we won’t need him after all and we now have 25 litres of paint here and 25 on the way!

While all this was going on our Tesco delivery driver rang to say he was just down the road so could he possibly come to us nearly an hour early. I said yes and normally I would be pleased to see them early but I had painter going up and down to the study with OH to check things on the computer, Tesco driver going in and out of the kitchen with the crates of groceries and me, not knowing if I was coming or going. I think I need to lie down in a darkened room now.

OH has just called that lunch is ready so I’ll post this and try to come back later to tell you about our Memory Clinic visit.

Took my car round to Stu's and his dad has sold the mot centre to his brother so he has to go to Torrington now to get the cars MOT'd. It now has to go on next Tuesday. What a bum. Thats now thrown me for the rest of the day and I was getting on so well. :-(

Morning all it grey here today and its 15 degrees.

Cars in today for it MOT so I shall feel isolated again today till I get it back.

Don't think it rained int he night and its dry this morning so far. Hope you lept well and that Vera is ok as I don't think we heard from her yesterday.

The keys on this keyboard are zizzy and make a noise as I type and the wheel on the mouse clicks round rather than a smooth turn and its also very very small. More suited to a childs hand.

Good morning all. 13 degrees here at the moment and grey but it is only just five to seven so early. I am up early as being picked up at 0930 to go on the visit to the nursery/garden centre.

as I was going to get to bed last night . I went on Facebook before switching off the PC and saw that my sister had just said she was at QA hospital with high BP. 213/92 I think it was. anyway chatted to her while she was waiting and having tests until she told me to go to bed at 11.15.. Last message was that all tests were clear. (ECG, blood test, X-ray). So I did go to bed. Can't find a message yet to see if she is home. (Taxi there cost £19 she was told by 111 to go to A&E.)

Ann, yes my leg improved with walking around. And no I have not tet put the plants in as I need some cactus type compost and some grit to mix in for the Sedems. I am going with our garden group tomorrow to the small garden centre nursery where we are being shown round the centre used for all sorts of things called The Buterfly garden. If you remember we had a talk at U3a a while back. Got to leave here at 0935. Hopefully I can get the compost then.

EveningAll,

It's been overcast here all day again and less hot which suits me fine. We popped to a garden centre first thing as I wanted a ball of wool and a birthday card. We had poached eggs on toast while we were there, then called at the big Co-op on the way home. Then I went to the carwash in the village, dropped OH off there and he walked home to get some exercise while I did an errand after the car was done.OH has gone to a match at Rugby with his friend this evening.

That was sad about your friend needing urgent surgery Vera. I hope she makes a good recovery. As you say it happens more and more as we get older and even the people on tv we remember from years back seem to be getting less. I hope your OH got on well at his assessment and like you say, a lot of us get more forgetful as we get older so it may just be that and he will be reassured. I always had trouble remembering names of people I was introduced to doing my job and now I struggle to remember the names of some people I worked with as does OH, but he worked with far more than me. We often get in the car to go out and have to get out and go back and make sure the front door is locked and we are both more forgetful about where we have put things.

Glad you slept well AnnG. I always like getting back to my own bed after being away. I hope your leg improved once you were up and on the move again. I expect you have been putting your new plants in the garden.

Gawd something just came through the letterbox and it's a warning that there's a planning application to further extend the travellers site that's between here and the village. It is the site that was started without planning on a Bank Holiday and had to be applied for retrospectively, originally for about 5 caravans. I've lost count of how many there are now and there's been trouble there so people want to stop any more extension. I must admit I hadn't noticed the application.

Mandy your crochet hook must have wings, the speed you get things done. I suppose single crochet stitches to join the squares would leave a ridge, but it might be attractive, but you can experiment with what's best. I'm looking forward to seeing it too.

Well done for linking the new keyboard to your PC Mel. It gives you a bit of confidence to have a go at things when you get some success. You think of some interesting miniatures to make and the little Pheasant's with actual feathers must look great.

I'm off to bed now as it's late for me so I hope everyone has a good sleep tonight.

My keyboard and mouse froze today and I managed to get the new one BIL bought me years ago and did it all by myself. :-D

Mandy, garsen looked no different to before I went away. Plants in pots are all fine, no loses.
gosh that blanket will soon be completed.

Afternoon all,

Overcast here but quite warm and the sun has been trying its best to shine through the cloud , some of the clouds are very black but I don't think we should get rain .

Only one more square I think Mel ,I shall have to send a photo so you can see what they look like .
Ann I'm not sure yet how I will join all the squares, might sew them together or might crochet them together.,sewing will give a neater join ,crochet will leave a ridged seam .

Went to tesco for a bit of shopping came home and son had messaged to say he'd found a television for us ,we had been saying we should get a new one as this one we've had quite a few years ,still works fine but just had it a while ,anyway he's bought it and is coming round later to set it up so we'll have to have a lesson on how to use it .

Anng how was your garden while you were away ,we're your plants OK after the heat .

I picked another lot of toms this morning ,they are coming thick and fast how ,I also picked ...........wait for it ......12 cucumbers lol so dil will be going home with some of those and two big bags of toms , that's 70 cucumbers I've picked so far.
I've given a lot away to neighbours too.

Raining here nice light rain in biggish spots. Better than the fine stuff. 20 degrees now.

Iv'e had a making morning. I am trying to make a hanging pheasent for a dolls house. Thrup my female pheasent has supplied the feathers as she's been preening herself on the patio and leaving me cast offs.

Pleased you slept well Anng. I don't think I am going to get my order so I shall have to go up the shop for milk. Its a £1 dearer in the shop in the village.

Wonder how many squares Mandy has done now?

Good morning all, once I got to sleep I slept well and only got up once. Leg is painful this morning after travelling yesterday. 17 degrees and grey here, wish that meant rain but I am sure it doesn't.

Hope you get a delivery mel.