General Chat

O dear Vera this blimmin covid is still causing problems with o9ur plans. Oh always said it would be here for a log while and not just a couple of years like they said at first.

Breakfast was great as usual and BIL really enjoyed himself having so many people to chat with. My neighbo9urs next door but one sort of and the peolpe who live up the top in oh's old cottage were on the table we sat at and Adrian got on very well with BIL having an interest in wildlife so BIL showed him all the pictures he takes where he goes over Exmoor. Angela, Adrian's wife sat next to me and Jonathon and Hazel were on our table too. I treated BIL to his breakfast as he usually brings pasties and sausage rolls. I bought three raffle tickets and did'nt win anything and Angela won a lovely pair of very warm socks in a small size so she was very pleased. She's like me and takes a 3 or 4 size shoe so we do get away with childrens socks sometimes.

We had 2 hash browns 2 rashers a huge spoonful of mushrooms, tomato, 2 sausages and beans. Followed by toast and jam or marmalade, and orange juice or tea , coffee or fruit juice. I shan't be having much else today as I am still full to the gills.

Still 15 degrees here, dry but very overcast. Has your friend been vaccinated for Covid and flu Vera? Hopefully if she has she might only have a light attack of covid. Does she know where or from whom she caught it. Could she have caught it since the return from your break?
So frustrating for you. Hopefully they will be able to re-schedule their stay with you. And hopefully you won't have caught it. I think if it is longer than five days since you were with your friend and you are ok it could well have missed you. Hope so anyway.

I have been busy and didn't realise the time. Nearly lunch time! I washed and dried the bedding. and have planted up 6 violas and a primula that I bought yesterday. and have just finished sorting out the wardrobe so all sweaters and winter weight 'nice' tops are on the lower rail all the tops I wear under sweaters are now in a different cupboard and all light weight 'summer' stuff is on the top rail in the main wardrobe/ And there are two carrier bags full for the charity lady.

will make the bed up after lunch then get down to writing some more cards.

Lady luck isn't on our side lately. I've had a phone call and some texts. Four of those who were possibly coming on Friday to stay for a couple of days now won't be here. It always was a "maybe". Grandson, partner and baby are coming, spending Friday night with another relative and then coming to us from Saturday to Monday. However, I have had a text from our friend that we have just spent 5 days with. She didn't seem all that well the last couple of days and has just tested positive for Covid. So the chances are we may be going down with it ourselves. Even if we don't get it I will warn grandson that we have been in close contact with someone who is infected and he can choose what to do but I wouldn't want to risk bringing such a young baby here at the moment.

My poor friend had a hospital appointment yesterday, is due to go for an ECG on Monday and go in for an operation the following Monday but I guess that will all have to be postponed. She is probably worrying about her OH getting it as well as he is quite vulnerable.

Oh well, the best laid plans..........

Morning all

15 degrees AnnG!! That's almost tropical. I thought we were doing well as it is about 10 degrees here which is a great deal warmer than the last couple of days. It rained hard most of the night and now it is grey and drizzling.

I'm not sure what I'm doing today; that will depend on a phone call I'm expecting but whatever I end up doing won't be very exciting. I want to get into town this afternoon if I can to go to the "Cards for Good Causes" shop and buy some Christmas cards. We usually get ours there as there are cards available from lots of different charities so you can pick your favourites. The space for the pop-up shop is usually provided foc - ours is in the library -and it is manned by volunteers so virtually all the profits go to the charities.

Enjoy your big breakfast Mel and thanks for the photos. That magpie was definitely hoping to grab a meal if stoaty dropped his kill and the deer are gorgeous.

Morning all,

Raining here and its heavy at times , sky looks looks very grey.

Enjoy your big breakfast Mel and thanks for the photos .

Sounds as if uou have your morning planned Anng storing your summer clothes away .

Not sure what we're doing ,we were going to get eggs and potatoes from the farm for son but as its so wet I think we'll keep in and fo that another day when it's dry .

You won't want any lunch then Mel. hope you enjoy it.

thanks for photos, love the deer,

Mrning can't stop its the big breakfast.

good morning all, drizzly here today but wow! 15 degrees. what strange temperatures we are getting really cold yesterday and gone right up today so far. No good if it is raining though I still need to get out into the garden to finish off. and now I have 6 violas to plant into a trough.

Bedding is in the wash and the main indoor plan today is to sort away summer clothes to the back (top) of wardrobe. I have two rails and keep stuff not in use on the top rail. I will have back ache by the time I finish that lot. Then I need to continue to write my cards.

Mandy a stoat's a bit bigger than a weazel. I did get a couole of pics but it was through the window and yes the Magpie would'nt actually go near the stoat it just wanted its prey. I think it was a squirrel. I have had a couple of little ones running about the garden lately.

I did a load of hand washing this morning and just spun it in the machine and it worked ok. I think I shall do that in future till I can get down to buy a new one.

I have the BIG breakfast tomorrow morning and BIL is coming so I must let him knowif I am not in I am up the village hall. I forgot to tell him when I rang him today to tell him about the stoat.

Evening all,

It hasn't been a bad day here the suns been shining away for most of the day its been chilly though but my goodness it's cold out there now not far off freezing I think.
I have made two more Christmas puds just two to go now .

Vera I'm sorry to read about your daughters partner being so ill ,I hope things can improve for him ,a worry for you all <3
I need to get the dead leaves off my Hostas but it's been so cold and my back hasn't been to good so they have been left .

Oh Mel shame you couldn't have got a photo of the stoat I haven't seen one for years ,I can't remember now are they the same size as a weasel ,I haven't seen one of those for a while either, we do see magpies about and sometimes a Jay .

You sound as if you've had a nice shopping trip today Anng .the putting shopping away is one thing I hate .

Thanks for all the tips on the out of date tins but I couldn't risk it as many had 2021 on and that is a bit to risky I don't fancy a dicky tummy :-(

With Anne we Went to Tesco Extra first and did a large shop. I forgot the bit where you get home and have to unpack it all. It is waiting for me downstairs.

We than went to Highfield garden centre as Anne wanted some boots which Pavers had in the sale. so I got a sweater in E Wool. and a couple of extra Christmas presents. Then to Dobbies where I bought her lunch and used my free coffees and bought another present. She picked me up at 10 and we got in at 2.45. A really good day out. She also got her shopping in Tesco but didn't want as much as me so she took hers back to the car then helped me with mine. :-D

Better go and unpack the groceries now.

I have 6 violas to put in a trough but that can wait until tomorrow.

Gosh Vera, you did get a lot down.

Mel did the stoat get away from the magpie in the ens with its kill?

Afternoon all

It's a beautiful day with blue skies and sunshine but it is cold out. Making the most of a dry day OH has done some more tidying in the garden. He's cut down the big clumps of helenium and cleared all the hosta pots of dead leaves. There's still more to do outside but we are getting there.

I went to put away our case from our Scottish trip and ended up clearing everything from the cupboard and rearranging it. It's awkward getting everything in and out as it is under the eaves, so the bottom of the cupboard is about chest height and it goes back quite deep but, of course, is under a sloping roof. If you don't pack it right you waste a lot of space. We keep cases and bags in there because we don't need to get them out very often. It's nice and tidy now.

Then I sorted out all our spare bedding. Luckily I have quite a bit. It's difficult not knowing yet if anyone is coming to stay next Friday but I want to be prepared rather than have a last minute panic Once I had sorted out what duvets, pillows etc I had available I made up the twin beds in one room and tidied up a bit in there.

I've also hand washed a couple of OH's really heavy zip fronted cardis and just done a little bit of ironing so I've got quite a lot done this morning. I feel shattered now so I'm going to have a sit -down with a sandwich and a cuppa. Hope you are all having a good day.

Iv'e just had a stoat come out from under the box hedge with I think a baby rabbit. It was followed by a Magpie and lugged this prey right across the garden towards the west wall followed by the Magpie.

Morning all,

Same here pale blue sky and there's a plane flying over and it is all silver with a vapour trail in the sunshine. Hav'nt seen that for a while.

Tomorrow is our BIG breakfast in the village hall so I may not be around in the morning.

Slept well and woke when I heard a noise but I must have been dreaming. I wonder if BIL will come today?

Good morning Brrr! it is chilly here, only 3 degrees. No frost as far as I can tell. going to two garden centres and the large Tesco today, being picked up at 10. Slept well and warm enough indoors, lovely wintry pale blue sky out there. Glad I don't have to go to work I would have been walking there right now.

Goodness Vera the idea about retiring and getting older is we slow down. You seem to hsve been in overdrive this last week. At least you had a few days away but you still couldn’t completely relax I am sorry to hear that your daughter’s partner is I’ll. I hope there will be some improvement but it didn’t sound very hopeful. Life is so sad sometimes.
Anyway it is good to see a post from you, we were stagnating a bit there. Don’t worry about us though, get everything done that you need to and call in when you can.

Gkad you're back safe and sound Vera and yu had a few nice days away with friends.

I hav'nt even thought about dinner for tonight so I better dive down the freezer and have a look to see what I can have. I was going to get some chicken thighs out this morning but forgot. Have any of you cooked those in the air fryer??? I had a look online and one lady did them and they looked great with a nice crispy skin but mine don't have skin on them.

I'm back - well, sort of back. I may be popping in and out for a while as life is still somewhat hectic.

I am still trying to help OH sort out a problem he has at the moment which mostly involves me writing letters and emails for him to check and sign. Also, without going into further details, my daughter's partner became very seriously ill and things are not looking good at the moment so we are trying to offer what little support we can there. We are also trying to help a couple of good friends who have some problems. Mostly it's just keeping an eye on them, offering a listening ear and OH occasionally acting as chauffeur. There are also things going on in our family which aren't causing any worry as such but the situation keeps changing so we don't know what is happening from day to day. We're a bit in limbo. I may have various grandchildren, some of their partners and the baby staying the weekend after next - or I may not. It makes it very difficult to plan anything ahead.

We were also booked with a group of friends on a coach trip to Scotland for a few days. I hadn't said anything as we thought we would probably have to cancel but at the last minute we decided to go. So we left at 5.30 Saturday morning and got back about 8 pm last night. It was relaxing up to a point because we had the company of our group of friends (11 of us) and lots of laughter but we were texting and phoning a good bit to keep in touch with what was happening in the family. The weather was good for the first 2 days, cold but bright and sunny. The other 3 days were a bit warmer but very, very wet.

I didn't take my iPad away as it is losing its charge very quickly and I can really only use it plugged in. I am going to take it in to the scruffy little phone shop in town as the owner is very knowledgeable but really only deals with phones. If he says he can't do it I will have to take it to the Apple shop in Bury St Edmunds and I haven't got time to do that at the moment.

I have caught up with all the posts.

Mandy, I agree with the other posters. If your tins aren't damaged and look and smell OK they are almost certainly fine to use. The "best before" date doesn't mean there is any danger from them but that they may have just lost a bit of perfection. For example crisp biscuits may soften slightly. I worked with a spice company for many years. Our products had to have a best before date of 18 months ahead. Spices kept dry don't go off but after a couple of years they may get a little less potent. I have just finished using a huge container of ground ginger that must be 10 years old at least. It just got slightly less gingery. Having said all that I think it's best if you feel comfortable so if it will worry you to use the tins then just dump them.

Better go and sort out something for dinner tonight. Have a good evening and stay warm. I might be back tomorrow.

i DON'T WASTE OUT OF BEST BEFORE THINGS AS THE CHICKENS WILL EAT MOST THINGS SO IF i DON'T FANCY IT I cook it up for them.

Thats a job I need to do the food stock cupboard. One thing I did open once and did'nt fancy as the coour had gone was a tin of cherry pie filling.

Sorry did'nt mean to shout I had been naming files and like them in capitals.

Been making some new moulds today and I have cast a few bits. I am wanting to make more Tudor pottery and I need to make some more of my little Tudor onion bottles.

Nice to see both Mandy and Gwyn posting thanks girls. :-D :-D :-D

Mandy, I have no problem eating food from tins, which are past their best before date. I am very fussy about fresh stuff, especially meat products being in date, but tins are used to preserve food, so they are still fine to eat.
That is my choice though and I wouldn't prepare food for other people and expect them to have the same views.
It is after all, 'best before' rather than 'use by'. I always check for dents and broken seams and we have always been fine.