General Chat

Afternoon All,

Sunny here still and a lovely blue sky with a few fluffy white clouds. The second wash is on the rotary drying so I'm glad that's done before the next lot of rain. Even the Buzzards are riding high on the thermals.

Our tables and chairs are aluminium so rustproof as well as the tables. We take the little round table in as the wind can blow it over and the top on that is glass as well. I left the chairs out one winter and the seats are woven plastic so they took a lot of cleaning in the spring and the birds had left theiir mark on them too, so I decided it was less work to put them way after that. The big table is too big and heavy for us now and so we ought to get a smaller one.

AnnG our surgery used to do the blood test that sounds like yours which I think give the reading of that moment when you have the test. I think yet another test, the continuous monitoring one shows the glucose spikes which can be useful.

Yes, I watched Strictly too and like Mandy haven't enjoyed it as much as I used to. It does seem to be more about stars trying to promote their public image now and I've been disappointed at the amount of gymnastics in the dances in recent years. With one or two male exceptions the men get away with doing less. That's just my opnion and I know they have lifts to do but they are stronger than women usually. As for all the screeching noise from gaping mouths!!! I'll see if it's any better next week.

I see All Creatures Great and Small is back this week, so that will be good to watch.

I'm having an easy day now too after doing some dusting and spider swatting after cleaning the ensuite.

It has been a lovely sunny day here today 0nly 15 degrees but no wind now (there was apparently over night but I didn't hear it) and very warm in the un. I spent half an hour cutting back one large hardy fuchsia, some more ivy and the lower branches of one of the buddleias. I have Jake coming when I get back from holiday , he will be here all being well on 13 October.

Suns out here now and BIL has arrived to change the mower collection boxes over so the new mower can go in for a service and be put away for the winter.

Morning girls,

It was quite bright this morning but that soon disappeared. I woke when it was dark for the loo so went back to bed but not to sleep. I lay there ages and was wanting to go back to sleep and have a lie in. Before I dropped offi was quite bright out but when I eventually woke it was dull and grey. It was a lovely starry night last night with all the stars shining. This is the first time I have woken and have condensation on the windows. Its 12 degree and pc says light rain. No change there then. I don't think we have had one sunny day in September so far.

My table and chairs stay out and always have as they are metal and Iv'e had them since the 70's.

Morning Anng ,morning all,

I can see a little bit of blue sky now as it was cloudy when we got up ,we had rain in the night and the wind must have got up as my tomatoe plants in a stand by the greenhouse had gone over ,Max grab one green tomato that got knocked off and I found another big one by a pot so I washed it and put It in with some ripe ones .

We're off to sons later for coffee then back to just have a relaxing Sunday, no roast today I'm going to make a toad in the hole.

Anng we watched strickly and thought how noisy I was ,I'm not as keen on it now it used to be more about the dancing now it just seems to be about the so called stars
Will see what next week is like and if its just as noisy and silly then we'll watch something else .ar

good morning all, quite bright here ans only 8 degrees, definitely autumnal, nothing planned, strange how the days weem to pass quickly even if you don't seem to be doing anything.

Ann I was curious as to why different scales are used. daughter's area use the same scale as you. I checked on google and it doesn't explain why they use different. But this is what I found (beside a lot more).

HbA1c is your average blood glucose (sugar) levels for the last two to three months. If you have diabetes, an ideal HbA1c level is 48mmol/mol (6.5%) or below.
So that is why those figures are used for pre-diabetes.

Good you and Mandy have got your summer furniture stacked away (sad too as that is the end of summer). My chairs and table stay out as they are metal, supposed to be non rust, about 8 years old now so doing OK.

Did anyone watch strictly last night? what a noisy programme that was, quite enjoyed it for a satursay evening though. Hopefully they will all have calmed down by the start programme next week.

Afternoon All,

We had that fine misty rain this morning for about five minutes, then it was heavier for a short time after lunch. I could see how the leaves are changing colour and some trees are shedding them now. I can't believe how fast we have gone from baking sun to autumn.

Yes the Japanese Knotweed could eventually cause us problems if it spread into the field AnnG. It has stems like bamboo and it grows 10 centimetres a day to over 6 foot high in the summer, the roots go down up to 10 feet and spread by rhizomes sideways up to 23 feet all in just a year. It can knock tens of thousands off the value of your house and grows through concrete, the foundations of buildings and breaks up drains. It costs thousands to be eradicated by professionals and still needs monitoring afterwards. As it devalues a house so much an owner can claim against the person whose land it spreads from once it has spread one metre onto their land. So it is a potential costly risk anywhere I would think. I was a bit concerned when I first saw it in all the scrub and undergrowth along the little used public footpath down the old Roman road a few years before the pandemic, but as it didn't appear on the maps of where it is in the UK, I thought what I'd seen couldn't have been it. I can understand the planning people wanting it dealt with before the digging and earth moving starts. A lot more plants have been designated invasive since 2016/17 including Mel's Parrot Feather in her pond which mustn't be released into the wild or given away and it's not allowed to be sold now.

I am 5.9 on the HB1Ac scale which is prediabetic too and I think similar to your reading from the different kind of measurement. I've put weight on too after losing a couple of stones after Christmas. I think cooking things to tempt OH to eat more tempted me as well! I haven't had any cake since Christmas and the only biscuits I have are the couple of Biscoff ones I get at the Hairdressers and that Sharon gives us. Sugar is in everything like you say though and you have to study the labels. When I did make cakes in the past I always reduced the amount of sugar. It's the same with salt as that is high in a lot of ready meals too. I've never added salt in any cooking since I was first married in 1969 and would be quite happy if restaurants saved some money by not adding any! People can always add some afterwards, but I can't take it out! lol. I see people when we eat out adding more salt all over their meal before they've even tasted it to see if they need any. It's just become a habit.

I haven't really got anything done today and OH saw the rain and decided not to go to footie and had a nap instead between watching footie on TV. He did get the garden chairs and little table in the garage before it rained though like Mandy was doing. We have to leave the big round glass table out as we can't fix the top onto the base and it's heavy to carry.

I just checked and our surgery doesn't seem to have changed to that appointment system yet. Can you fill in the online form before their phone lines open? I was just thinking if not that you might have to wait for an hour for them to ring back and then allow time to get there which would mean you couldn't be there in time for the earliest appointments anymore.

What a shame about Hoglet Mel, but like you say it sounds like he must have been struggling on his own for too long to survive. I hope the car Stu found turns out to be good and that you are soon mobile on 4 wheels again.

The winds really come up here and is blowing all the leaves off the trees.

Iv'e not done a thing today so far. Keep thinking I will make some scones but don't actually start.

Mmm! I don't very often eat cakes Mel, never cook them either. very occasionaly might eat teacake when out, I do eat about 1 or two biscuits a day. I also have one small twix a day (not a double one).
Until I reached my 80s I didn't have too much of a problem but age doesn't help with controlling blood sugar rising
It is all the 'hidden' sugar that is the problem. to beat that you have to study all the labels very thoroughly and not eat anything with sugar over about 5g per 100g. Culprits are, bread, rice, pasta, some veg (not green veg like cabbage that is ok), many fruits are high in sugar including nectarines, peaches, apples, bananas and others. tinned/processed foods have to be watched as well. It is a full time job which is why I fail. also being over weight is a problem. I have managed to lose about 7 or 8 pounds in 9 months but I am still over weight.

however I am happy with the result this time.

You'll have to cut out those biccies and cakes Anng and see if you can get it down a bit more.

Test results show that my blood sugar has dropped from 47 last year to 42 this year (below pre diabetic is 39) so I am still in the pre diabetic level but not dangerously so as far as I (and daughter) can tell. Test results were 'satisfactory'.

BIL popped in to measure the poles that go round my pond to hold the netting up the sides as some of them have rotted and bent. After he went a little while later the oil arrived and thats done now and I have a nearly full tank for the winter. A good price too 52. something a litre. Cheaper than the last lot I had. It makes a change when something is cheaper instead of going up.

Don't know what to do today as its that horrid fine rain that gets everywhere. I have a load of washing in the machine but don't think it will dry if I put it out so it can wait.

I am sad to say Hoglet did'nt make it through the night so I have to bury him today. I knew he was'nt good as he was a bit shakey on its legs. I think it was a bit far gone when Em's mum brought it down to me. It was found in a pit they have in the garden of the holiday let up the top and how long it had been in there we don't know. Also it could have fallen in and injured itself as its quite a drop for one so tiny about three foot. There are steps out of it but too high for one so tiny. It may have been better if Val had just let it go somewhere more safe where it could have found its mother. She had already let two bigger ones go from the pit.

Morning all,

14 degrees here and quite a murky looking morning but I think we should stay dry until later when we might get a little rain .

Ann our doctors did the same thing ,you can fill in the online form and they get back to you on line in about an hour, it worked fine for me when I had my chest infection ,they gave me the antibiotics.
If you can't do the online form the receptionist will do it for you and then they get back to you on the phone .
Now they have changed it and if you call in the mornings we get through to a call centre and they triage you to whoever they think you need to see ,I suppose the online form goes through to the call centre too .
The receptionist at the doctors will take calls after lunch time .

Not sure what we're doing today but I'm sure we'll find something .

Morning all,

Its about the same here Anng cloudy and 15 degrees. For some unknown reason my fingers feel stiff this morning. I think they need oiling.

Not been down to Hoglet yet just having my COC.

Hope you all slept well I had another night of sleeping right through to 8.10am mind you I was watching something on the tv till late.

Lol I had to read ann's post before I could remember what my last post meant.

Good morning all. very grey and threatening and 15 degrees. Not going anywhere today, just a Tesco delivery 4-5.

Why am I nervous about the following excerpt from my surgery?

We listened:
From mid-October, we are launching AccuRx Total Triage to improve the way you access care at our practice.
This means you’ll once again be able to contact us online between 8am and 6:30pm - for medical issues, admin requests, or routine appointments - without having to wait on the phone.
If you can’t use the online form, don’t worry - our trained reception team can complete it for you over the phone or in person. Every contact will collate the same quality of information for our triage team.

there is a lot more in their post but it just means we will be able to contact them by an on line form and somebody will then decide who we need to see and when the appointment will be. will it work? I hope so but it is a 'wait and see' situation I think. Meanwhile until late October probably even more difficult if we need an appointment sorted.

But would you be within spreading distance Ann?

I remember your previous hog having parties at night Mel and making lots of mess. This one sounds as if it's smaller.

Another planning application has gone in for the huge depots that are being proposed close to us as the land was sold to new owners, so they've had to apply. Years ago when OH and I were walking down the old Fosse Way footpath the other side of the field at the back of us, I saw shoots of a plant I told OH looked a lot like Japanese Knotweed to me. I even looked on an online map that shows where it is in the country, but it wasn't marked, so I thought it must be something else I saw. The ecological survey report of the land where they are building the warehouses mentions it where I thought I saw it and says the deep roots may go onto the warehouse land and be spread during the deep excavations. They've said that it should be discussed with the owner of the land it is on and be eradicated as it is an offence to allow it to spread to other property and should be regularly monitored ofterwards. At least that is a positive about the warehouses being built.

Yes Anng I had my Hogwart in the lounge all winter and we let him go in March the following year. He was really lovely and oh had his picture put on a mug for me. Oh made a stand for my chicken arc and we put down polythene on the carpet I still have the stand but it has plants on it now and I have no oh to set it up for me in the lounge now and besides I have furniture where it went before two sets of drawers with my craft stuff in them.

I'm back in and I too got the maintainance sigh up not long ago.

I weighed Hoglet this afternoon and he or it weighs in at 5oz.

My oil did'nt come but I had a phone call saying it would be here tomorrow.

Oh took a while to go ,its very slow .