General Chat

Good morning all. Bright and sunny here at the moment.

Appointment with DiL’s hairdresser this morning just for a wash and blow dry.
Easier than battling with a different shower and still hhs I got to avoid the wound healing on my temple.

It sounds as though you’ve had a good day AnnG. I had to google Ascott House. The gardens do look nice and I bet the tulips were a picture. I’m pleased the paracetamol helped you sleep a little better. It might be worth taking them for a couple of nights.

It sounds as though the antihistamines are helping you as well Annx. It does make such a difference to the day if you have had a bit of rest the night before.

Did you find your cake recipe Mel? It sounds yummy. What did you have to eat at Stu’s – it was tonight you were going to his wasn’t it? I’m all out of gear with the days this week. I’ve been thinking it’s Friday most of today. Oops, just realized you said you’re going to Stu’s tomorrow. I think someone has removed my brains and stuffed my head with cotton wool lately. Now I’ve just seen that you found a different cake recipe. I think I’ve lost the plot!

You have been quite busy today Mandy. How are you feeling now? Don’t go overdoing it. You’ve reminded me that we need some more compost from Roys. I don’t think we’ll be going into town for a few days so I must write myself a note to get some or I’ll forget again.

I keep wondering if that chap’s cat turned up. He told me his house number and I’d like to go and ask but I don’t know him at all and don’t want to appear nosy or maybe upset him more if the cat hasn’t turned up.

We had our Covid jabs today. The surgery is usually very well organized but they seemed to be at sixes and sevens today and we got a very heavy handed nurse who just jabbed the needle in. She actually said that she felt my muscle jump and my arm feels so heavy and sore now. I’ve never had a jab like that before. Then she wanted to give us both an RSV jab in the other arm. I said I would like a separate appointment for that as I thought I might end up with both arms out of action if I let her jab the other arm as well. So we are both having the RSV vaccine on 1st May but we have to go to one of the other surgeries in town for it and it will be the same nurse. Then just as we were leaving the receptionist called us back to book our next Covid and flu injections in October. We can’t complain really, our GP practice looks after us pretty well and we don’t have to chase much to get appointments.

We haven’t had any rain today but it kept coming over so black that I was sure it would rain. It’s been very windy since lunchtime but seems to have calmed down a bit now. Time to go and make myself some overnight oats for the morning, get a drink and read for a while and then see if my sore arm will let me get comfortable in bed. At least I know this will be better in a day or two.

I'm sure he will enjoy it Mel and it's good to give a present you know he will like. It's nice you have neighbours to chat to and who buy your eggs.

Phones are so much better for taking clearer photos nowadays, just lack enough zoom for really distant subjects you want closeups of. I use my phone much more now as it saves carrying a camera as well. None of us mind forwarding your pics. :-) I must look up those gardens. I hope you have a good night tonight.

I took a few photos Ann, not a lot as I have been there twice before and I was using my phone. I will try and remember to send some tomorrow but I can’t use the group email on the iPad so will ask for it to be sent on.

I did find a fruit cake recipe but not made it y and thats what he will have for his present as I know he misses his cake.

Been to a neighbour to take her eggs and had a good chin wag with the pair of them.

It stayed sunny here all day aftere that grey start its been really lovely and I should have been out in the garden but I only pulled a few weeds out the big tubs in the front and I did gather all the rubbish fill the dustbin and take that up the top so I have done a few jobs today.

Happy Birthday to your BIL Mel. Is he 21 again like the rest of us. :-D What did you get him for his birthday?

We had a really heavy rainstorm about an hour ago Mandy so I hope it hasn't headed your way now. In a way I was glad it stopped us going outside to do more as I think we need a break. Yes the antihistamines are good and but I make sure I get the non drowsy Loratadine ones so I think it was the way they damp down inflammation and pain that must help me get off to sleep. I hope it works again tonight as well. It seems like you are gearing up for potting on your cues and toms with the compost.

Sounds like you had a nice day AnnG with a nice breakfast and trip to some gardens. Did you get any photos?

I think OH must be asleep, I'd better go and check.

Hello all, I slept ok last night but did take 2 paracetamols when I went to bed. Had a good day Dobbies for breakfast then a visit to Ascott house gardens where the tulips were beautiful in all the beds. Very cloudy and rain threatening but we got away with it. It rained after we got home. And it is very windy. Here now with a solid grey sky.

Afternoon all
It's been sunny here off and on but it's now clouded over ,we went out to get our tablets from boots but couldn't park so did a couple of other jobs first , we took some things to the Salvation Army clothing bank ,my goodness I had a job to open and close the bin lids ,it was so heavy and then by the time I put the bag in I could hardly close it ,it shut with such a clang .
We then went to Roys for some compost and Miracle grow and some weed killer for behind the shed as that's where the nettles seem to grow .
Jake had called in before we went so we were a bit late going but we managed to park in town on the way back so I got our tablets .
When we got home we had a coffee then did a couple of jobs outside .

Ann it sounds as if the antihistamines helped you last night ,some of them can make you feel quite drowsy too so that might be why you slept better .

Oh Vera I do hope the poor man can find his cat , that's the trouble with cats they just roam were ever and there's no keeping them in ,so sad when they just dissappear never to be sèen again .

Happy birthday to your bil Mel ,did you find the cake recipe , was it a cake or one of those date and fruit roll things with the nuts in .

Really black here now looks like it's going to pour any minute.

BIL's birthday today just sent him a text with ducks on the end. Not done a\ thing yet, so much for getting lots done today and I have to take eggs round to Angela this afternoon.

Better get something done before lunch........

Morning All,

Sun's trying to come through now and it seems warmer than yestrday with no breeze. I slept better than for ages last night with far less pain, so the hay fever tablet obviously helps damp down inflammation as it has before. The doc said I can take them all year round if needs be.

Vera you are such a good friend to people helping where you can. That poor man looking for his lost cat who was his best friend while ill. It brings a tear to your eye doesn't it. I do hope his cat turns up safe and sound. Then your friend who must have been badly frightened by the fraud scare. I expect she felt much better for that long conversation with you, even if it wasn't really convenient. The best thing we can give anyone is our time when they are troubled isn't it. I'm glad you had a better sleep last night and it will be good to get those covid jabs done, hopefully without getting much aching of the arm!

OH is ready so I'd better get my skates on. He has to pop in a school to collect something first, then the shop and anywhere else. BBL

Morning girls,

Glad you had a better night Vera you must have needed that 4 hour sleep after seeing to your poor friend.

Its a funny morning its quite bright but the sky is grey its 12 degrees and pc says rain to stop in 1.5 hours it must have rained a bit as the car is wet but the road dos'nt look that wet.

I must do the refuse sack today and take it up the top ready for the very early dustman tomorrow. I'm at Stu's tomorrow for dinner.

Hope the rest of you slept well and that Anng had a better night with her leg.

It will be a day of jobs for me as I need to do some ironing as the weather has been quite nice lately its piling up and I must wash my hair, the thought always puts me off but it dos'nt take that long to do. I have to sweep out the front of the bungalow if my back will allow and clean the girls nest box out and wsh the front door as the Raven pood on the porch yesterday and I had to wash that all off before the shopping came andthe floor could really do with a preser wash but I think bleach will do and it may put him off with the smell.

Good morning all

It’s supposed to be a nice day but at the moment it’s grey and dreary. Perhaps the sun will put his hat on and venture out soon. I had a better night; 4 hours unbroken sleep from 1-5 am and the a couple of hours of dozing on and off.

I’m not sure what I’ll do today. At the moment I’m waiting on a Sainsbury delivery. They should be here by 10 am latest. Just one sub and I’m happy to keep that. This afternoon we both have our next lot of Covid jabs, so I expect it will be an achy arm for the next day or two. It’s at our local GP surgery so we can walk there

Sainsbury are here. Might be back later.

I'm really tired and headachy today. Still not sleeping much but managing to function during the day. Today I've managed to iron the few bits from yesterday's wash that needed it, tick several small jobs of the to-do list and give the two birdbaths a good clean. This afternoon a chap from another little cul-de-sac next to ours knocked to ask if we had seen his cat that had gone missing. We let him have a good search round our garage but no luck there but I will keep a good eye out for him as the chap was quite distressed. He said he had been ill and during that time the cat had been his best friend. The cat is a nice looking tabby called Enzo. I hope he turns up. Tonight a friend rang just as we were eating our dinner. Normally I would have said I'd ring her back later but she sounded upset and clearly wanted to talk so I didn't tell her we were in the middle of a meal. She had a financial problem, a fraud that her bank had thankfully picked up so she hasn't lost any money, but she was exhausted by spending all day online or on the phone and needed to talk it through and offload on to someone. Three quarters of an hour later my dinner was congealing on the plate and I didn't fancy heating it up again so it went in the bin. Sometimes I think everyone seems to be turning to me at the moment but I try to help if I can because I always think that one day I might be the one needing help.

I have read your posts but the pain round my head is getting worse and my eyes are beginning to blur so I am going to close the computer down. I always seem to be moaning lately so to end on a happier note it's been a lovely warm, sunny day. It's really felt that spring is here and summer might not be far behind :-). Night, night ladies, sleep tight.

Evening All,

Chilly and breezy ere today but it's been sunny. OH has cut down three shrubs for me, a very, very, prickly, purple leaved berberis with little yellow flowers, the huge, lime green Leycestria. Golden Showers and the Mahonia with frondlike leaves called Soft Caress. I couldn't believe Thompson and Morgan are selling small plants of the latter for £39.99! All I have kept in that corner is a pretty, orange potentilla which is easy to control.

Mandy there is a lot of tree pollen now as you say so perhaps it's that. I didn't feel well today and had crustiness in the corner of my eyes the last couple of mornings and the throat tickle again last night as well as some sneezing. I was a bit shaky today and spaced out and the penny dropped that I was out in the garden more the last few days. I stayed inside today and took an anti histamine and feel a bit better now.

Vera, It was the oilseed rape that seemed to first cause my hayfever when they grew much more of it years ago. I had a Renault cabriolet then with a folding roof and remember travelling down a long lane with field after field of it each side of the lane and had my roof down. The air was thick with the smell of it and the effect it had made me realise it was hay fever. Soon after that when I took my mother out along country roads (she lived in the city) she started to be affected by it as well and OH finds it affects him too now. We are quite glad less of it is grown round here. I do think other pollen affects me to some degree as well now though. It probably doesn't help having a field at the back of us, but at least it is grazed now instead of hay being cut like when we first moved here.

I expect the quinine dose must be really quite weak in tonic water AnnG. I read quinine could have some undesirable effects with heart rythm, so to be on the safe side I stopped having tonic water once I was started on a beta blocker. I like to always have a shirt as well and in my case they are good to slip over a short sleeved or sleeveless top on very sunny days, as my pasty skin burns easily! :-S

Mel, do you mean to say that you never kept a copy of those important things you didn't want to lose? I'm a dinosaur as I dislike and don't use the cloud, but I copy stuff I don't want to lose elsewhere. You could have lost those things anytime if your PC failed and was not repairable.

I've only just posted this when I got up for the loo and remembered I hadn't switch the PC off!

Sounds nice I like a blouse/shirt that goes over things and keeps the breeze or wind out.

Just taken pics of the things I painted yesterday.

It was a good trip to the gsrden centre. I didn’t buy plants but did buy an over blouse (shirt). I like themake they sell and have several of the
E blouses that go over thin sweaters.

Iv'e hit another hitch with this putting me back on Firefox or should I say re entering. I have lost ALL my bookmarks so lost all the recipes I have saved and the cake I made BIL for Christmas. I have been looking for it all morning cos I was going to make him one for his birthday which is tomorrow.

All I can remember is it had dates in it and you had to melt those over a low heat and then add things and leave it to soak over night, mixed fruit and I think no eggs, baking powder, orange and lemon rind and wholemeal flour and a drop of brandy.

Bitter lemon has quinine in it too and I think tonic water cos oh used to drink that when he was getting cramp in his legs.Enjoy the garden centre and tell us what you buy please? We are all nossey and want to know.....

We have 3 large wheelie bins and a smaller food bin plus a kitchen caddy. The garden bin I keep in the back garden the recycling and normal waste are in the front. Unfortunately they get spattered by birds from the aerial above. Only once has maggots in the food bin from chicken left on bones in very hot weather. We have had all these bins for about 20+ years and our system is not changing at the moment as it is as good as or even better than the ‘new’ schemes.

Good morning all bright and suny here but cold. Di
L has gone swimming. She is doing so many miles for charity again. Son and I are going to a big garden centre for breakfast later.

Sleep was much the same as usual, legs quite painful. DiL suggested trying non diet tonic to see if the quinine works. I will maybe give it a go.