Hobbies and Crafts

Yes it was a shock when the window went. Sreangely we have heard the noise befoe as we were out in the garden one day when one of the windows on our neighbour's conservatory 'exploded'/ He swore at first that it was a stone from our garden, but the glazier convinced him it wasn't. It only needs a small dlaw and maybe a strange shift in temperature for it to happen.

Kandj, exhausting isn't it going up and down stairs, supposed to be a good work out :-D Still, it sounds as if all our decs are put away and once Jane has dusted we will all be straight again.

Has your Granddaughter sorted out what she is going to do about the car Vera?

I am feeling virtuous today I have cleared out the cupboard under the double oven. I am sure we all have one like it, full of baking trays, cake tins, rolls of foil, saucepan lids etc etc. I have filled a carrier bag for the dump with rusty baking trays and saucepan lids that I have no saucepan to match!

And then I tackled that other nightmare (well so far partly tackled it). the drawer that has bills and receipts, bits of paper with phone numbers for tradesmen, home delivery pamphlets, booklets for long gone items, like defunct irons etc. I have filled 4 bags with shredding and have a crate filled with recycling that I can't get in the bin until it is emptied tomorrow after 4 weeks recycling waiting for collection.
:-) :-)

Yikes Ann, that was a bit scary with the window !!!!!. I too have never heard of that happening before. Good job it was the outer bit that went.

Vera it sounds a very expensive job on your Grandaughters car. I haven't heard that expression 'sold a lemon ' for a very long time LOL

Getting the Christmas decs down and put away is always more exhausting than putting them up..Ours went back in the loft yesterday .Don't mention DUST ! :-S.
I am looking at it now. Dusters and polish out tomorrow.

Kandj you must have been worn out wit hall those trips up and down the stairs and not feeling good <3

The Birds have been squabbling so badly on and around the window feeder today.It has been a bit like a war zone :-S :-S.Lots of dive bombing to knock other birds off the feeder.It has just not been very nice to see...They should all be put in detention and write lines . :-D

Oh dear Ann, the bathroom window shattering must have frightened the life out of your OH. Thank goodness that it was on the outside and not inside as well. I haven't heard of this happening before and hope that it will be sorted out for you very soon.

Your poor Granddaughter isn't having a lot of luck with her little car Vera. I hope it
can be put right soon and won't prove to be too expensive for her to get on the road

Hubby continues to be under the weather. If he is no better after this weekend I will be ringing the GP yet again..... it goes on (and on) or it seems like it just now.

I had a sore throat and sniffles and generally felt out of sorts but managed to get all the Xmas decorations down, boxed up and back into the loft for another year.
Having to go up and down the stairs 5-6 times almost wore me out and made my
back and legs ache afterwards...I am feeling OLD..... but then I am OLD now ha ha

The starlings and seagulls are eating everything in sight,I'd better put more food out

Lol he shouted for me. He had bare feet and we didn'trealise at first that the inner pane was intact so didn't know if any glass had come inwards.

I've never heard of that happening Ann. It must have been really frightening. Thank goodness the explosion was outwards so no-one was hurt. Your OH must have felt a bit shaken.

I am more or less back to normal, still got a bit of a cough and a slightly blocked nose but feel fine in myself.

Oh dear Vera, a reconditioned engine is not going to be cheap. Was it bought from a garage?

Lots of starlings around here all of a sudden, we haven' had any for ages so not sure where they have come from.

It was scary this morning OH was in the bathroom shaving when there was a terrific bang and the outside layer of the double glazed top window exploded outwards. We were getting ready to go up to Webbs garden centre at Wychebold so that was our day out scuppered. Trying to get a glazier to reply on their answer phones took ages. Must have been the frost caused it, luckily the glass went outwards, well it would as the inside layer is still intact. Eventually a local glazier called and he will do it next week. Then our original choice called in (too late, he put the windows in 6 years ago), he said strangley we are the third he has heard of to have it happen. Apparently the frosted glass is weaker than flat glass.

Poor Kandj, you really don't need a dose of the lurgy right now. I hope you are not feeling too poorly and that you and your hubby are both starting to feel better.

How are you feeling today Ann? I hope your cough is easing up a bit now and you are getting some rest. My back is much better thankfully, just a few twinges now.

We don't put up a lot of Christmas decorations, just the cards really and a few candles, but we always have a fairly large real tree which we put up a couple of days before Christmas. OH bought a particularly lovely one this year which I decorated with lights and all gold decorations and it looked so pretty that I didn't want to take it down. But I did it this afternoon and our sitting room looks so empty now.

The garage looking at granddaughter's car made a lot of muttering about injection and compression and goodness knows what else. They are looking to see how well it can be repaired (and at what cost!) and if it is not going to be practical to do it, they will put in a reconditioned engine. Think they were sold a lemon there

Quite a few birds around today, nearly all sparrows and starlings but we did see 1 bluetit and 1 robin.

All decs, tree etc taken down and packed away. Only the tree put in the loft now, a home found for everything else down here to make it easier for OH. All dusted and hoovered and polished so all clean again. Those decs don't have create dust. Not sure if I have found everything I put away before Christmas yet. Can't think what but I bet something is missing.

I thought I would get on and do it this morning while OH was at golf, gosh that was a lot of trips up and down the stairs. Then when he came home and after he'd had his lunch he hoovered the floors and I dusted and polished. So that is it for this week

Jane, I was reading in the DMail yesterday about this current cough. Apparently it actually is a very bad variety, much worse than the usual one that does the rounds this time of year. still not treatable with antiBs but can be dangerous to the very young and very old and those with existing problems. I am still coughing and still have catarrh but have a bit more energy today so have taken the decorations down now, all packed away. Just waiting for OH to come home from golf and dismantle the tree and put it in the roof before giving downstairs a good clean. (that might be tomorrow of course if he is late.)

Lots of birds flitting arouns although nothing unusual. I had put a small feeder close to the house with mealy worms in and thought I was going to have to move it. However, this morning the great tits ate all the mealy worms in it. So I have refilled it as it it great being close to the house.

Kandj, oh dear I hope you are not going to feel poorly now, is it the cough/cold bug. Stay in the warm. I found hot blackcurrant and apple helped to sooth my throat. Took a flask of hot water to bed with me and a cup with blackcurrant in it and made it up when I had a coughing fit. <3 <3

A much brighter day with plenty hungry birds around. I hope you all are improving from the cough/colds and painful backs now. There are a lot of nasty bugs just now.

I think hubby has shared his lurgy with me....... just what I could have done without!!

So 2 days now into the New Year.It will be Feb before we know it !!
Hi Jem,Happy New Year to you too :-D :-D

Coughs and nasty bugs are rife country wide by the sound of it..It seems to me it has been far worse this year than for a few years.
Ann,has your cough improved at all?, Vera ,how about your back?
Kandj ,you have had such a tough time with OH being so poorly lately. I really really hope that soon things will be improving and that 2017 will be a much better year for you both.You deserve it <3

Hi Ann and Everyone:-)

WISHING YOU ALL A HAPPY AND CONTENTED 2017 :-) :-) :-) <3

Just been reading back and I am so sorry that you have the dreaded lurgy Ann. Hope it continues to improve slowly so that you feel better soon.

We could write a book (or two) about back pain Vera, so you have lots of sympathy.
Your Granddaughter did really well to cope with losing the power steering on her car.
That must have been really scary for a young girl and the Premier Inn staff were very kind to help support her when she pulled into their car park.

I hope Jane is managing to keep free from the many coughs and colds that are around. Hopefully a few frosty morning will help to kill of some of the nasty germs.

SENDING HAPPY NEW YEAR WISHES. GOOD HEALTH & HAPPINESS TO ALL XXX

Happy new year everyone, may your gardens be full of beautiful birds (and not too many sightings of the sparrowhawk).

still coughing for England Vera but have managed two nights quite good sleep so not feeling so tired. full of catarrh which is what is mainly aggravating the cough. did manage to get out this morning, we went to Dunelm for coffee and bought a few bargains, new duvet cover, new fitted sheet, a square roasting type tin and an oblong small (for 2) pyrex casserole dish. Then OH bought the new golf bag he 'needed' from the golf shop and I bought a book next door in the charity shop. (JK Rowling Sasual Vacancy). We then visited the Range but they didn't have much reduced. We actually preder the gloucester range and that was the Cheltenham one. Surprising how they can differ.

Vera, glad your back is better, back pain is very debilitating.

Jane, Yes I am pretty sure we had this cough at the same time 2 years ago. Hope you don't catch it over the airwaves!

Had a lovely bouquet of flowers from son and family to wish me better. That cheered me up. :-D :-D :-D :-D <3 <3 <3 <3

I hope your cough is easier now Ann. You must be exhausted if you are not getting much sleep.

Thankfully my back is beginning to improve at last. Still getting twinges of pain but I can stand and walk without holding my back and laying down is no problem at all.

I haven't heard the outcome of the car mechanic's visit yet.

The fog seems to have cleared today and the sparrows are out in force, together with a few starlings so I am going to have to fill the feeders yet again. O H put out some toast and that has disappeared but I think that may have been our fat old pigeons.

EDIT Wishing everyone on this thread a happy and healthy 2017.

Oh Vera,I hope your bad back eases soon .Back pain is a nightmare.
As for Powered Steering !!! It is so dangerous when it goes.A few years ago we arrived back from Florence about 10pm at Birmingham airport and went to the hotel where we had left the car .We started to set off from the car park and OH said the steering was so stiff..I got him to drive it around the Hotel carpark before setting off on the M6,and it was impossible to drive.(Brand new car too !!!! ). We had to wait hours for recovery for the car to be put on the ramps and then we travelled home in the cab with the driver ,getting home at 4am rather than 12 midnight

Ann,I remember before when you had to sleep sitting up with that dreadful cough.( I think had the same too but not half as bad as you. It is exhausting. I hope you feel better soon..
My Daughters boyfriend who has been with us over Christmas loves the window feeder and is going to get his Mum one :-D.He was
fascinated with the number of birds feeding from it.

Fog so bad here tonight !!!.Can't see the bottom of the garden (again)

Oh dear, what have you done to your back Vera? Is it one of the rest and it will improve kind or have you put something out?

still coughing I'm afraid. had a really bad night, despite sleeping sitting up I still woke up choling twice, each time the coughing fit lasting ten minutes or more, quite scary as I sounded as if I had whooping cough or croup as I fought to get my breath. Had this two years ago when I had a very similar cough/cold. At least today I have stopped sneezing.

what was the outcome of the car, not too expensive I hope?

The birds are very organised with their feeding aren't they? Well all except the starlings who seem to go in for a free for all.

Really frosty this morning, it all looked very pretty but i was glas I didn't have to go out in it to work.

Sorry you are in the throes of a horrid cough and cold Ann. Beastly things, they can make you feel really rotten. I'm nursing a bad back. It's OK lying on my back in bed or sitting in one of our reclining chairs which has support in the right place but very sore if I am standing or walking.

Ann, you can still steer if the power steering is gone but it is very heavy and hard work. Talking to daughter on the phone this morning, the engine apparently started to die as E moved on to the roundabout. By the time she had got it off the road it had stopped completely. However, yesterday daughter managed to start it and drive it home, very slowly and with some difficulty. Experience tells. While we were on the phone, the local garage mechanic arrived to have a look at it, so we ended the call and I am waiting to hear the outcome.

Very cold and foggy this morning though it has just about cleared now. There are plenty of sparrows around. They are lining up on the fence and taking it in turns to go to the fat balls, two at a time. They look so well organised that I think they would have a real go at any that tried to go out of turn ;-)

Gosh Vera that was frightening for your granddaughter. Especially losing the power steering. It sounds as if it had not completely gone, ot left her with some steering capacity. If it had gone completely she would not have been able to move I don't think and that would have been even more scary. But full marks for the staff of Premier Inn. Has the car now been recovered. Cars, such useful things when going well, such a problem when not.

Anyway pleased you had a good weekend with the family. Take a few days to rest now.

I have still got this horrid cough/cold so feel completely wiped out, the sneezes are so violent they take all my energy. Can't ever remember having a cold like this one before. :-( :-( :-(...... Looking for sympathy!!!

Kandj, I hope the antibiotics are kicking in now and your OH will soon feel their benefit.

It's horrible feeling so unwell.

I hope Vera that you have recovered after your busy time with family. Your granddaughter did well in that testing situation.

It's a cold frosty morning here and no sign of small birds, but perhaps they were lurking nearby watching the antics of a large seagull in our garden.

I had hung the fatty rind of a gammon joint for the birds to enjoy. I'd chosen a flimsy branch of a small tree, so that cats couldn't get it.
A seagull was standing on the bird bath and was launching itself in the direction of the rind, grabbing anything it could peck at, before falling to the ground a few feet below. It didn't have much luck, but was very determined and repeated this action time and again, before going off to rest on a nearby roof top.