General Chat

It was a more comfortable temperature last night but I couldn’t seem to settle down and got up again at 1.30 am, made a cup of tea and read for a couple of hours. I was still up by 7.30 but am feeling droopy and headachey this morning. We are promised rain later but at the moment it’s bright sunshine.

OH rang the handyman we’ve been using lately to see if he would be interested in painting the fence round our property. Otherwise OH will do it himself as he always has in the past. In the past few months this poor man has had to deal with a heart problem of his own, illness and death of his mil and dealing with her property etc and the terminal illness of his bil. Now he has apparently had a mini stroke. He has recovered and says he would love to paint our fence but he isn’t allowed to drive till 4 August so he is coming to have a look and give us a price then.

Enjoy your garden trip and pub lunch AnnG. Fingers crossed that the rain holds off while you are looking round the garden.

I hope you get your crab Mandy. Enjoy it. As I can’t eat any shellfish poor OH misses out though he’ll occasionally have mussels or something with prawns if we eat out

Keep an eye on that horsefly bite Mel. It sounds quite nasty. My agapanthus seem to thrive on neglect. I never feed them apart from a bit of fresh compost in the top once a year. I leave them outside in the winter but I cover them with a bit of fleece till the worst of the frosts are over. That pink plant you asked about in your email is Lythrum. It seems to be hardy. It dies right down in winter and I have to put a marker in the ground to show where it is because when it starts to come through again in spring it’s very easy to mistake it for a weed and pull it up.

I’ve done nothing yet this morning so I’d better go and tackle a couple of jobs before lunch. Sainsbury’s are coming between 2 and 3 pm. 1 sub and 1 thing not available and a bill that gets more expensive every month!

Raining grey and very windy.

We have had a shower here but it didn't last long and hardly wet the ground. better than nothing of course.

Not sure that an umberella would be any good Mel as it is windy. Might just have to get wet.

<3 <3 A very Happy Birthday William hope you enjoy your day <3 <3

Wow its come over very grey suddenly and the winds high so I think we are going to get some rain.

I forgot to say its William's birthday today so a very big

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILL if you look in. <3 <3 <3 xxx

Its also St Swithan's day so if it rains today we may get rain for 40 days and 40 nights!! then we will be moaning about it being wet.

Morning Anng and all,

Quite bright here this morning and its 16 degree pc is telling me rain in 1.5 hours time so better take your brolly again Anng. Do have a lovely day out even if it does rain a little I am sure you will enjoy your lunch out.

Hand is itching like crazy this morning but there's not as much swelling as I would have thought but three fingers now ache like billyo but index not too bad.

I really need to do both pond filter today. I have been putting it off as there has'nt been that much in the well to top them up fully. I try to save it for the big pond and the koi so my goldfish get tap water now and again. I would welcome some showers and maybe the well will get topped up.

Yes Vera Agapanthas are lovely. Mine hav'nt done as well this year. I have to put mine in the shed in the winter as I nearly lost a whole pot ful one year. It only had one roset of leaves left. This year it has two and two flowers. I never feed them either so must try that now too.

Went to Holsworthy yesterday for chicken food and potting compost. Bought four more little key ring labels in the hardware shop and some pretty coloured scourers in pink, lilac yellow and apricot. I wanted them for the big pond filter as the brush I have for it dos'nt go up the bit where the water comes in and it get a blck ring round it but these little pads should get up there great. I got the pellets and corn for the chickens and two sack of compost and a bag of potting grit all put in the back of the car for me by a very willowy girl. It reminded me of when I had the pet shop and lugged the sacks around myself.

Morning Anng, morning all,

Nice bright morning but a bit fresh when I opened the door to let Max out earlier but it's a nice change to have it a bit cooler ,it should warm up again later in the week .

New series of the Sewing bee tonight so something to watch after all the tennis but there's still football matches this week .

Better get on as we want to go into town and finally fingers crossed get a crab .,what's the bet he's on holiday this week.

good morning all. 14 degrees, very dull and still no rain. It was much cooler overnight and I slept well from 11pm to 5am. Still only had a sheet over me though. Going to visit a garden in Gretton Gloucestershire. (near Winchcombe) with lunch at the local pub. Being picked up at 12 o'clock.

After knowing what to wear in all the heat it is now a bit more difficult. It could also rain.

I have your photos Vera.m your garden is so pretty and the plants are doing better than mine.

I worked out,nexcept for about three very short, drizzly showers we have had no rain since May.

I have your photos Vera! I do love your Agapanthas, they must look lovely from inside too and the Coleus are beauties. In fact your garden looks in a healthier state than ours!

I've never been on a cruise. It's the crowds and norovirus that puts me off, but seasickness is more of a possibolity on the smaller, quieter boats. The fiords should be calm though.

I forgot to ask how your Horsefly sting is doing now Mel and can you get your ring off yet? Was it swelling from the bite that stopped you from taking it off?

Phew, apart from the electrician and painter yet to come, the rest of the ensuite is finished and the men and all their equipment have gone. They insisted on hoovering through which was good. I got a toilet that is a bit higher than the old one, so is easier on my knees and it has a self closing lid which I haven't had before. I can't put things back in there yet till all of the sealant dries properly in a couple of days. I damp wiped the window frame and sill and the drawer tops and shelves and radiator at one end of the bedroom and changed the water in the bowl three times it was so murky with all the dust. I'd had enough by then so will do the rest in there tomorrow.

The flooring man is keen to continue with the same flooring in the bedroom after I mentioned it and did the ensuite floor so it could just follow on into the bedroom. so I'm thinking about it. The skip is being collected on Wednesday and they are only charging us for a week, yet it will be nearly two weeks we've had it. I think we will be able to top it up with a bit more rubbish which will be useful.

Tomorrow we are off to look at some blinds for the tiny window, ones to keep the heat out. It's a nuisance online that some places no longer show you their range of fabrics, they just want you to make an appointment for them to call. We are calling in the Morrisons nearby for poached eggs on toast as they do really nice ones.

I see some of you have managed to do a bit in the garden today. We have had two showers of rain today and a Pigeon sat on our fence when it was lashing down and was opening one wing upwards and then the other to get them wet. It looked so comical.

I hope you find a nice crab tomorrow Mandy.

I'm shattered and off to bed now. I hope we all sleep well tonight.

Evening all,

Just had a sharp shower I had to whip the outside chair cushions in quick I think they are waterproof but I like to get them in .
It's felt quite muggy today even with the lovely strong breeze ,I got a lot of dead heading done and started to fill the brown bin again that was emptied today .

Anng I hope your son has enjoyed his birthday on the cruise ship ,its something I don't think I could do as I'm not keen on all the water .
Colins brothers ex dil and her husband have been on a three month cruise round the world now that would be to long for me .

Ann soon back to normal then the dusting can get done and you can get all your bits and pieces back in place .

Vera no photos here .

Oh Mel that bite sounds nasty keep an eye on it hope all the swelling has eased now .

Hope your feeling better now Gwyn.

Tomorrow we want to go into town and hope the fish stall is there as we fancy a nice crab.,we can also go into the butchers and stock up with meat again ,I want some more of their pork and tomato sausages as they were lovely .

Thank you Gwyn. Back to the drawing board then :-(

Nothing received here Vera, nor have they gone into Spam .

Could someone please tell me if they have received from me a couple of emails with some garden photos. I certainly heard a whoosh sound when I pressed the send button but they should have come through on my email as well and they haven't...

Vera strangely one survived unscathed the two that are identical in leaf colour that got hit by the heat are just surviving. They had been potted into a very large container with a large begonia in full flower. It looks as though the begonia won’t survive. I quickly repotted the two Coleous into individual pots and put them in the shade, fingers crossed they are looking sad but alive.

I think I might enjoy a Norwegian cruise but OH won’t cruise. It doesn’t look as though we are going to get a break at all this year. OH doesn’t seem particularly bothered but I would like a few days when I haven’t got to cook or clean.

Did your coleus plants survive AnnG? We bought a few as tiny plants and put some in a couple of pots in the garden and the rest in a couple of troughs down the side of the house. The ones in the garden pots got frizzled in the hot sun soon after we planted them and looked awful but we kept watering them and eventually new leaves grew and they are fine now. The area down the side of the house is a bit more shady and the ones in the troughs took off and there are a couple of flower stalks coming. I’ll try to get a couple of photos but it’s a narrow space and difficult to step back far enough to get a decent picture.

It sounds as though your en suite is nearly finished Annx. You’ll be glad to get straight again and, if you are like me, you’ll be happy to have your own facilities back. I hate it when we have visitors and I give them my room. I go in with OH and have to share his en suite. I feel so hard done by ;-)

I hope Mandy, Gwyn and EOS are all well. Enjoy the rest of the day everyone.

They are thoroughly enjoying the cruise. from the photos the scenery has been wonderful, Just two days and they will be docking at Southampton.

No rain and not much cooler here as it’s now 25 and is expected to go up another degree or two. It’s quite muggy as well though there is a breeze which helps a bit. On the plus side the washing is drying quickly.

I’m like the others Mel, I’d love to know where all your energy comes from. If I can manage an hour outside I think I’ve done well. This morning I spent about 30 minutes pulling up a few weeds and deadheading and the heat got to me so I had to come in. Well done you, keeping going in this heat.

Happy birthday to your son AnnG. I’m sure he will have enjoyed his cruise.

OH has just yelled out that lunch is ready so I’ll post this and come back later.

I think Ann as I have got older and we have had this much higher spell of high temps, my body clock doesn't actually regulate itself as well as it used to It was actually not so bad last night which is why I slept better I think.

It sounds as if your disruption is almost finished and you will be getting back to normal.

I have not done any gardening as the sun was still quite strong this morning although it did cloud over about an hour ago and is partly cloudy now so might venture out in a minute. I have sorted out the airing cupboard and put the clothes away and dusted the two bedrooms. So something has got done indoors.