General Chat

Hey Linda, glad you are ok. Yes each move out with the area requires a new number. Think I had to let about 70 organisations know and that took ages!!

Dark pink ceiling, certainly different from white!

Just been wet & windy here all day but further stormy weather later....just the usual.

Been trying to work out some of my DNA matches without any success grrrr. Most of them are 4 cousins etc so quite distant but I can go back 5 generations on most of my families but not having much luck.

Waiting on a phone call with a friend I haven't spoken too in ages for a catch up an then sort out my evening meal.

Take care Linda

Florence in the hebrides

Oh Lordy Lordy...what a day!! Its stormy here and very gusty winds. Tesco is several stops away and i don't envy the driver carrying my boxes to the back door, poor person but I shall be extremely grateful.

My dad is very breathless again but has an appointment with the cardiologist tomorrow which is good. He was also in his workshop using a grinder and managed to slice a bit of his finger!!! Blood flowed quickly as he's on blood thinners but he grabbed a cloth and then wrapped insulating tape around the cut. Seems it has healed ok now but honestly, he won't listen about taking it easy!

He is not a dressing gown & slippers man and says he will keep going until his demise much to the worry of me his daughter. I just said to try and take care when using these machines. What else can I say.

So today I'm just pottering about as not much to do until after food delivery. Laundry all up to date etc.

Hope everyone else looking in is well and ok.

Shall look in later on

Florence in the hebrides

Hello all, well it's not raining today so an improvement on yesterday at least.

Hoping everyone ok , not seen Joan for a while so really hoping she is ok .

Always seems to be a problem with something when moving and the internet is usually the one it seems. Hope all goes well and it gets sorted for you Linda.
You are definitely motoring on with your new house. Soon be just as you want it.

Your dad sounds like my OH Florence. My OH doesn't take advice easily and I've lost count of all the minor( luckily) cuts he has inflicted on himself because he 'knows' best.


Done my shop for delivery tomorrow, nearly forgot as this week has gone so fast but then I say that most weeks. lol.

Take care all

Ginnie

I wish that my house would soon be as I want it Ginnie, but it is one step forward and one step back.
The builder is doing very well with the ceilings, he only has the main bedroom, en-suite, hall, landing , kitchen and utility room to do. We have to give up the main bedroom tomorrow which I am not looking forward to. It is the only room in the house which is cosy and warm. We have a tv in it, so as soon as we have finished dinner, we have been going upstairs and using it as a cosy lounge for the evening.

The real lounge has the fireplace ripped out, I had hoped they would put the new one in this week, but they are too busy and it is going to be a week tomorrow :-(. to make it worse OH has started taking the skirting boards off in preparation for when the wood floor goes in. That means there is just raggy looking concrete on the bottom of the walls :-(

I had to go back to the old house yesterday to collect two parcels. I had ordered several batches of blinds and a few days later some curtains.. I payed using PayPal as I normally do. I had changed my address on both PayPal and on the credit card which pays PayPal, but it was only when I ordered the curtains that I noticed that PayPal was dispatching everything to my old address. I thought that I had messed up the address change, but when I checked, I hadn’t. I googled it and it seems to be a recognised problem when if you have dealt with a company before and they have your details in their system, PayPal will revert to that old address . I had to ring Pay Pal up and they removed all traces of the old address from their system. To be fair to them, someone in America answered on the first ring, unlike most of the UK websites where I am on hold listening to canned musak for ages. Most of the orders hadn’t been dispatched yet, so the company altered the delivery address, but two blinds had already gone to the delivery company. They did try to get them diverted, but it didn’t work, so I had to go and collect them. It was a good job it was only half an hour up the road and not a long distance move.

I hope Joan is alright as she hasn’t been posting

Morning everyone.
Oh my Linda, its not easy is it? Hoping your painter gets done fairly swiftly. But at least you have 1 cosy room you can use.

Its amazing re the addresses when you think its all sorted and then.... it still presents problems. Glad you got it sorted swiftly though.

Have you not arranged with the PO to redirect for a year? I did it and it worked so well, cost around £60 if i can remember? But it was worth every penny. If you haven't done so already. maybe worth it and then at least you will get all your mail & parcels etc.

Sunny day but when I popped out to the bin, my golly it was cold and a chilly breeze too so didn't spend any longer than I needed to outside!

Admiring all my plants growing on the windowsill. The geraniums seem to be growing by the hour!! They will soon need repotting into a larger pot.

Linda, I'm thinking maybe Joan just has had a lot of things to deal with recently and maybe isn't up to posting? Here's hoping she will be back soon and hope she isn't ill or something.

Nothing special on today so pottering around tidying up etc. Might throw out some washing as its dry & windy, save the tumble drier lol

Have a good day all
Florence in the hebrides

Relieved to know you're OK, Joan - though obviously it's a difficult time for you.

After my husband died, I found a whole drawerful of assorted batteries in the shed, large numbers of screwdrivers, and lots of other stuff, too much to mention here.
And of course, all the little tins and jars of old screws, etc.

I hope your son manages to give RM a good kick in the right direction. You don't need money worries on top of everything else.

Dry and sunny here today - and even some warmth in the sunshine. Lovely!

Quite warm and sunny here and I have spent an hour in the garden weeding and cutting back a few things ready for the brown bin men this week. On Thursday at the garden centre I bought 6 Primulas in a back reduced to £1.99 They are all in flower although a bit leggy but they brighten up a dark corner and they might take for next year. Their root system was not brilliant but £1.99 I can afford to lose.

Glad that you are OK Joan although you will be finding the winter is not helping your mood. These first months are hard, and you don't need problems not of your making to pull you down. Good that your son is going to sort out RM. They should have a bereavement department to deal with.

Linda, I can't say that I envy you all the upheaval but I am sure it will be worth it in the end. Hopefully things will move forward at speed.

Florence hope you got your washing dry and that it didn't blow away. There is absolutely no wind here at all today, it is really spring like. Sad that it is not going to last.

Ginny these on line shops seem to come round really quickly don't they. Always something to add to them though.

Not looking forward to Tuesday this week. I have to go to Cheltenham hospital to the medical photography suite. I have the beginnings of a basal cell carcinoma on my nose so I have to see the photographer before seeing the consultant. I know what it is as I have had almost 20 more previously over the last 20 years or so. But have never had one in such a worrying place as outside of my nostril. Although I believe it is a very common place to get them. I don't like to think about the effects of the op to remove it, not going to be a pretty sight. Anyway I usually go to Glos royal hospital so Cheltenham is different and harder to get to. I have to go by bus into Glos bus station and then catch the hospital bus, so a new experience. Appointment is at 15.15 so I need to leave home at 1300. If going by car ir would take half an hour tops.

Afternoon all

Sunny & bright day but quite cold in the wind, however it is dry and good for the washing. Yesterday, managed to get all the towels dry and they didn't blow away lol

So just when you think you are nearly there with selling your property, something else crops up to keep you back grrr

I was sent an email with loads of attachments from sol. A copy of the search shows when my dear mum got a disability grant to have the bath removed and a shower put in in 2013 and another grant to have new central heating put in through something called Coldbusters in 2010. These grants were given by local council.

So upon reading the search info, it says, if the property is sold, then the grants have to be repaid in full???? My mum was reg disabled and on pension credit. They checked her bank and at the time had less than 3K so she met the criteria.

At no time was she told that if she sold the flat, then both grants would have to be paid back. So now we shall have to pay them back around £8600.

I have tried to speak to someone today but all I got was a recorded message saying due to sickness and staff shortages, there is no one to take your call, please leave a message! So one more thing to keep us from completing but in anycase, its our problem not the buyers but they need written confirmation from the council they we will be repaying it on completion of sale.

Anyway shall try phoning again tomorrow and hopefully get it sorted.

Ann I hope you got on ok at the hospital. Are they able to remove the thing on your nose? Sounds very painful and in an awkward position too.

Joan, so glad you posted as was a bit worried, you might be unwell.

I hope your son managed to get through to the Royal Mail Pensions Dept today and get that sorted. You said there was no will so i'm guessing your house is in joint names? But now you need to consider making a will yourself so if anything happens to you, your estate can be dealt with more easily.

All these things take time, but as you said, you have dealt with most things now so nearly all sorted. You may now qualify for Pension Credit, just a thought to look into.

Hope your snow has gone. We def dont have any over this way and dont want any either.....Spring is here and winter has gone hopefully.

I finally finished my friends family tree and daughter took it today to post it for me. So that's another one complete .

Well I need some lunch and a coffee as not eaten yet.

Hope everyone else looking in is ok.

Florence in the hebrides

That condition of your mum's grant sounds very unfair, Florence.

On a Google search, I see that if the property is sold within 10 years of the Coldbuster grant being given, then the owner (or landlord if the grant was to a tenant) does have to repay it.

"COLDBUSTER GRANTS
Currently there is a repayment condition attached to Coldbuster Grants given under the local scheme where the application is from an owner-occupier. The South West London Housing Sub Region attach a condition in respect of the Universal Coldbuster Scheme for South West London whereby if a grant is given to an owner-occupier or a private tenant and the property is sold within 10 years of the completion of the works, then the grant is repayable. In the case of a grant given to a private tenant on this Scheme the grant is repayable by the landlord and it is proposed that a similar condition should also apply in respect of applications from private tenants for new enquiries under the local Scheme."


But your mum got her Coldbuster grant in 2010, so that clause shouldn't apply - assuming that all councils have the same rules.

The same seems to apply to Disability Grants - though again, maybe different areas have different rules:

Do disabled facilities grants have to be repaid?
Not usually, but if you are a homeowner and you have a grant of more than £5,000 you may be asked to repay some of it if you move within 10 years. Check the conditions with your local authority.
https://www.foundations.uk.com/library/dfg-faq/


But I'm sure you've looked into all that!

It does seem as if it is outside of the repayment time Florence so you may be OK.

My hospital appointment is tomorrow. I don't thinkthere is any doubt about whether or not they can remove the BCC, If it is left there is the chance it could become malignant. It is how they will remove it that concerns me really.

I have relooked at the local council site and for the disability grant, it says repayable only if within 10 years. Both grants are now out with the 10 years so I don't understand it. But until I can get through to someone, I cant deal with it. No one has tel me back since I left a message!

EDF have tf to a new system and i couldn't log in to the electricity acc for the flat.
I eventually got through and explained and was told, we tf to a new system but are having problems! I will send you a link to change your password. Hmm still waiting for that too.

Bit of a non-productive day really and haven't managed to tick off all my things to do except pay the last instalment of the c tax for the year.

Joan so sorry to hear about your wee grandson. I was going to say it sounded like mumps? Here's hoping the AB will get to the bottom of the problem soon and he will recover and go home. Such a worry when they are young.

Sadly these forms do take ages to complete. They never make anyone's life easy at difficult times. I'm sure your daughter checked it thoroughly so hopefully will get sorted soon.

Sorry Ann, got the day wrong! I suspect under a local. Freeze the area and cut it out? I had a stye once that got infected and was like an aniseed ball under my eyelid. They flipped my eyelid, injected to freeze and removed it. All I can politely say is Ouch! But in 5 minutes, it was all sorted. So here's hoping your visit tomorrow goes well for you.

Daughter left another pile of washing grr, she's away until Wed.

On Sunday, she decided to wash her single fleece duvet. Before i knew it, there was soap suds coming out of the machine and spreading over the lino grrrr Used 4 towels to mop it up and stop soap from spreading out.
Just like before, she put too much liquid in the machine. The fleece duvet cover really absorbs the soap and creates so much you really only need a tiny amount.

Took 3 washes, 3 spins and a final rinse, spin & drain to get rid of the suds. To say, i was not a a happy bunny doesn't cut it and daughter got the sharp end of my tongue as this is now the 2nd time she let this happen.

Just as well she has gone away today, far away from the washing machine!

The time is moving so fast cant believe it neary 3.30 already.

Off to hang out some washing for the last time today :-D

Sorry to hear about your g/son Joan I hope he is home soon. Always something to worry about isn't there.

Hopefully you will get the answers soon Florence so the sale of the flat will go through with no problems. It does look like you won't have to pay the grant money back.
I did that soap overload once and the suds were everywhere . Not good at all .

All the best with your op tomorrow Ann. good to get these things sorted asap ..

Raining again here now but did manage to get my washing dry outside this morning.

Take care all

Ginnie.

Good morning, hope you get your reply phone calls today Florence.

Just to clarify. Today is a trip (by bus) to Cheltenham hospital to the medical photography department. there I will have a photo taken of the BCC on my nose. This will be sent eventually the the Dermatology consultant so they can see the size of the problem. the photo takes the place of what used to be a preliminary visit to Dermatology. I then will have to wait for the actual appointment to remove the BCC. I have had many of the blessed things removed before including one on my cheek (face). It is the injections that hurt as it is well numbed. But this time I am concerned by the position of the op more than the op itself.

Good morning all looking in.
Lovely sunny day but pretty chilly and very breezy. I was going take a short walk around to look at all my pots and get some fresh air but really it far too windy and I might fall over .

So I have a good result. I was given another number for emergencies and so decided to phone it. The lovely lady said she could help me and so she did.

Neither of the grants are repayable as both outside 10 years. she said the original conditions were recently changed so nothing is repayable, She will email me later today confirming this information and that she will inform the Land Registry to remove the charges against the property.

So relieved and how lucky was I to get such a helpful lady who not only knew what she was doing but dealt with my enquiry on the spot and didn't say she would look into it and tel me back. My faith in Customer services has been restored. :-D

So as soon as I get her email, I can them email sol together with the other info i had to get and hopefully this will get us another steep closer to completion.

Joan, so glad your grandson has gone home and hopefully will be back to full health very soon. I still write a few letters although not by hand. I type them on the computer as much quicker and then email one to Australia as no cost and quicker.
But it does pass the time.
Have you got any other hobbies other than your cross stitch? I have a friend whose granny crochets blankets for different care home where she lives. Friends donate balls of wool for her to use. The blankets are put to good use and the granny feels appreciated plus it keeps her busy in the evenings.

Are there any social groups nearby you could join for senior citizens like a lunch club once a week? Just a thought.

My geraniums are really growing so fast, I cant believe the growth speed. Is this normal? Also i trimmed off all the dead leaves off my Amaryllis but now, a green shoot is growing again but not sure if this means it will flower again before xmas. I had stopped watering it as thought like most bulbs, they are dormant until the next season? Anyway I have given it some water and shall see what happens.

Not sure what to do this afternoon as I have already vacuumed the whole house and swept floors, all the paperwork now completed too. Maybe go through some drawers in my bedroom as haven't done that in awhile!

Ann, hope your journey went smoothly and you got on ok today.

Shall look in later

Florence in the hebrides

I am glad that your grandson is on the mend Joan and that you have found someone to sort your problem out Florence. It makes such a difference when you get through to a sensible person.

I am still battling away on my list of address change, but am almost there. The renovations are continuing, the builder didn’t come until lunchtime today, but he plastered the main bedroom and en-suite ceilings this afternoon. They will be dry enough in a couple of days to move back into. We have been in one of the spare bedrooms for the last two nights. The first night was dreadful because the bed is rock hard and I couldn’t sleep. OH likes it, but I like my nice soft mattress Last night, I took our King size duvet and folded it to make three layers which I slept on. It was lovely and soft, so I had a good night.

Yesterday, we had someone come to give us a quote for new French doors to replace the very old sliding aluminium ones which have been in since the house was built. We also had the burglar alarm man because the patio doors have two sensors on them. One for if someone breaks the glass and one for if the doors are opened. The sensors will need taking off when eventually we get new doors, but more urgently the wires will be in the way of the new flooring. So we are going to have a wall sensor instead.

This weekend we need to go and have a buying binge for new light fittings. There is only one ceiling light in the house which will be used again, we need new ones everywhere else . I have seen some on line which I like and are quite reasonable. That particular company has an outlet shop on a shopping outlet park not too far from here, so we will go and look.

I need to chase up the kitchen designer tomorrow because he said it would take him a week to week and a half to do his design and that time is up tomorrow. We are spending a fortune on the house, but we knew that we would. The price we payed for it reflected the fact that it needed modernising.

Hello Linda, good to hear from you. Crikey, you really do have it all going on at once don't you.

Re your bed, when I bought a new bed, although it was firm but comfy, i decided to put the old duvet on top of the mattress and that made it very much more comfy and in the winter very warm.

Was busy this afternoon as home alone and cleaned all the window sils in my bedroom, bathroom etc. Was beg to see little bits of green along the seals but its all gone now. Stripped off my bed too so a job well done. Gutted out a few drawers too and found some bits for the charity shop.

Now ready to re start another family tree that hasn't been looked at for 2 years so plenty to keep me occupied for awhile.

Ann hope you got back safely and all went ok?

Coffee time now and then see what's on the tv.

Joan, unless you were going back to an old group it is probably too early for you to join something entirely new. But it might be worth looking to see if there is a craft or knit & sew group to join when you are ready.

Morning all.

Another lovely bright sunny day but still very breezy.

Names, that's a good idea for Joan re a knitting group maybe in the future? I know its still too soon just now but further down the line.

I'm staying put today and not venturing anywhere!

Hoping everyone well today and hope you have the sunshine.

Florence in the hebrides

Joan, I always consider a trip to the supermarket a joy not a chore as its when I meet lots of people haven't seen for awhile and we get to blether awhile. My daffies are not quite out yet and yes I hope the wind doesn't bash them here too.

One of my friends has offered to give me a day out soon to town. So love it when we do a "road trip". No pressure of time either. We wander, browse, have lunch somewhere and lastly do the shopping. A change of scenery is always a morale booster.

This Friday my neighbour is taking me to a charity bingo a few miles away . Love bingo and its for a good cause too so whats not to like.

better go as I can here my phone ringing..

Good morning everyone lt is dismal and drizzling here.
The builders are plastering the kitchen and utility room this morning, so we will have to go out for lunch- what a hardship :-D. We did have lunch out yesterday as well, but that was Morrisons cafe, so that doesn’t count.
Today we are going to look at a plumbers showroom which has a bathroom display. We need to find a new toilet and vanity unit for the downstairs cloakroom as the current ones need to come out before the new flooring goes in in a couple of weeks. All the bathrooms need redoing, but they are a little bit further down the list. At the moment they are all a very fetching peach colour :-(

We are going to a very nice furniture shop which has an excellent cafe, quite posh food, but we are worth it :-D
A couple of years ago we treated ourselves to two new Stressless sofas, but didn’t buy a foot stool as it would have been in the way all the time. Here there is room, so I am going to gulp at the ridiculous cost and order one so I can get my feet up high. At the moment I only have a little cane topped stool which is too low.