General Chat

Just spent about an hour in the garden cutting back the ivy which is all over our garden no matter how many times I cut it back. I think it actually might be holding up next doors fence so I just trim it my side. At least it is green but it does choke the clematis. I have also weeded out some more cellandines and placed a couple of the old stepping stones from the other half of the lawn in the large border. There are three there now which helps me get to the stuff on the fence. It is dull here and 11 degrees, can sort of feel rain in the air, hopefully it will rain later and get rid of the dirt on the outside of the pots from the power wash. I can get Jake to do it, as he should have done, with the hose but that will be using more of my water.

Happy Mothers Day all you ladies.

Mornig all,

Much brighter here this morning and the same temp as Anng of 8 degrees.

Day before yesterday I shot a rabbit in the garden and slung it over the back fence for the fox. Well the fox did'nt get it because yesterday I had two lovely Buzzards feasting on it. One was just standing on it and looking towards the trees so I did manage to get a pic but the bedroom window is so dirty its not very clear. Later the two were there together but they have such very keen eyes the mo I walk in the bedroom they fly off into the trees over the back.

I must try and take a pic of the Wrens nest today too. When I showed BIL he thought it was really funny.

Slept right through last night but my back hurts this morning as well as my hip.

Good morning AnnG and all

There will be no gardening here today. It’s very wet and the rain is forecast on and off for the whole day.

We had some pots break so our hostas are now in plastic pots. OH bought some very large black ones. I don’t think we would find pottery ones large enough to contain the plastic pots.

I’ve been up over an hour so it’s time I got dressed and had some breakfast.

Good morning all. 8 degrees at the moment and it looks nice outside. Hope the wind has dropped so I can get out there and do a few things.

It had been forecast for your area yesterday Mel, to rain, but it had also been forecast for here and we didn't have any. In a way I could do with some to wash away the dirt left by the power wash splashing on pots etc.

Hope you managed to get the things out of the moulds ok in the end. frustrating if they break.

I have some Hostas in pots too that I should look out. and I have now started putting plants in plastic pots that will fit inside pottery ones.

Mothers day today. I have two envelopes downstairs waiting to be opened, so cards from daughter and son.

They will break the pots if they are pottery. a lotof the pottery pots have a lip on the inside which is why I never put them in those but put them in plastic pots and stand the pots in the pottery ones. I have tried to cut the roots up with an old carving knife but that was ok for small not too crowded ones but a saw is much better.

Hope you all sleep well tonight.

It's been a drizzly day where you are then Mel which puts me off doing anything outside. The shop must have been fed up with having no internet and might have lost some custom. I always keep a bit of cash in the car, just in case and take it out when the car goes in for service. Where will we be if they do away with cash altogether though?

My Hostas are in just the same state and need splitting. They were in pots with two other plants originally, but have gradually pushed the other plants out and taken over the pots completely and been like that for several years. I tried to get a trowel in one pot to dig some out last year and just couldn't make any headway. I might try hammering a screwdriver in and waggling it in a few places to see if I can loosen some bits. They are in so tight I'm worried they might break the pots.

Was up quite early this morning and slopping around when BIL turned up. A short visit he only came to to deliver the deisel he had put in my car as he likes to keep it for when its needed. I think he want to try and get the big zero turn mower going this year and that takes deisel.

Yes the camelia is a beautiful shpae and colour and looks so very healthy.

Its been dull and miserable all day today but not much wind that was forcast but its still very cold. its 8 degrees and it only went up to 9 degrees earlier and its been that fine rain all day.

When I went down the shop this morning there was hardly anywhere to park in the village and the shop was full of customers. Now I know why I go later than 12 o'lock.
They also had no internet so no cash machine working or the card payment machine which threw everyone even me till I remembered I had popped a tenner in my phone so I was lucky.

I have some of the new moulds in and am about to see if they have come out ok. Sometimes the first ones come out a bit fluffy but that cold be that I have to put talc in them when getting them off the formers so the rubber dos'nt stick together as sometimes happens and then I have to start all over again.

You got on well today Vera with all the jobs you have done in the garden you put me to shame. I must take a look at my hostas as I am sure they need splitting but they are all in very big plastic pots so may have to wait till BIL is here to help this old girl get the pots off and saw them up.

Its now getting dark so need to turn the light on and take a look at the moulds.

You would have to find something to buy with the credit then Ann. A new TV maybe?, camera? Not silly are they.

Vera I had not heard of the maintenance box before either and had to look it up, it never occurred to me that overflow ink has to go somewhere. It actually came up with a box where the ink replacement box comes up and says that it is nearly finished and it is the warning to buy a new box as you can't print once it is full.

Afternoon All,

I was surprised it had reached 12 degrees by the time I went to the shop and it is sunny with no sign of the rain that was forecast a few days ago.

Miss Marple woke at 5.45am to the sound of a paper being pushed through the letterbox so was out of bed to peep through the blinds. A car with headlights on was parked on the road a short distance away just past our neighbour's bungalow where they could turn easily. I hadn't blocked our drive at the bottom with my car last night to see what would happen. I'm pretty sure now that the person using our driveway was probably a relief driver for when the usual one was unable to come. He was coming much later at about 8.00am as well.

We do still have bikes in the garage Mandy. We had a couple of secondhand fold up ones years ago, but the front wheel flew off OH's on a ride once and my handlebars would turn without the front wheel so we got 2 mountain bikes we still have. When we were girls my friend's mum had a bike like Miss Marples' with the basket on the front and a thin plastic cover over some of the back wheel to keep your clothes clean. I only had the tiny bike I had as a 7 year old then, so I would ride my friend's bike and she would ride her mum's bike when we went for a bike ride.

OH has gone to a local match despite being in agony with his back last night after changing the shower curtain that's over the bath. Apparently the holes in it at the top were smaller than the ones we've had before, but some ibuprofen and a hot shower have done wonders in getting him match ready. :-) We were pleased he got a call from the docs yesterday to say they are arranging a bone scan to see what is happening with his osteoporosis as it's 5 years since he last had one. He was helpfully getting things ready for me to do our usual Saturday poached eggs while I was out. I have tinned tomatoes with mine. This week he managed to get out and open red kidney beans instead!!?? lol. :-D Apparently you can rinse and freeze leftovers of the tinned ones so that's good. :-)

That was a shame you lost your Camellia one winter Gwyn. With such happy memories too. I was surprised we lost ours last summer yet two others next to it survived. It was about 5 foot high, so not a small plant. I hardly watered last year with the indoor work we were doing, so it might have got too dry. I wasn't in the garden much in all the heat and can't have noticed.

Yes they do like ericaceous compost as you say AnnG and it surprised me they thrived in our soil which isn't really ideal. I do give them an ericaceous feed in the Spring though and then chuck some used teabags under the lower branches where they aren't seen. The oldest one is over 7 feet high now and I want to reduce the height a bit. I might start this one in a pot this year while I decide on the best position for it. I hope you can get your printer you like sorted as they all seem different how they operate.

Your poor OH still hobbling around Vera. I have had bad cramp that left my leg sore for a few days but not as bad as his sounds. I hope you still have the 'chariot' to help if needs be. He must be fed up with it now.

Mel it will be good for you to have a change from doing the Tudor man. Could you blue tack the tiny pieces to something to hold in your hand or prop up to paint them? I can imagine how fiddly it must be to hold them while painting them. You do such lovely fine detail on them.

There was a note in the WW this week that if you take old mobile phones, broken toasters etc to Curry's they will give you £5 in store credit so I might take my ancient mobile in as no-one would want to buy it.

Well, I've learnt something new today AnnG. Our printer is an Epson and is now fairly old and I had never even heard of the maintenance box so I have been looking up what it is for. One site I saw said the maintenance box should be changed every 1-2 years! I think I'll just wait till the machine tells me it needs changing.

It's 11 degrees here and is now quite cloudy though it has been beautiful all morning. I did some washing and got that on the line as it was very blowy, than I wrapped up in my old gardening anorak and spent 90 minutes working outside. I tidied up some pots of herbs and cleared a couple of big pots of dead plants and did a bit of weeding. Then I decided to tackle some mini hostas in troughs down the side of the house. I bought 6 a few years ago and planted 2 in each of 3 troughs but they have grown and become entwined and the troughs were full of moss. I've only tackled 1 trough so far but I got everything out and split the 2 hostas into 6 pieces, planted 2 pieces back and topped up with some fresh compost and potted the other 4 pieces up to grow on and take to the plant stall at our Club coffee morning in June.

I finished up by giving all the bird feeders a good wash and disinfect. I've decided that in future I am only going to put out sunflower hearts and fat balls with occasional mealworms. I put out peanuts and nyger seeds, they hang there untouched and getting rained on and then start to go mouldy. I throw them away, wash the feeders, put out a few more and the same thing happens time and time again. All the birds just go for the sunflower hearts. Even the resident robin ignores the mealworms which they are supposed to love.

My back is aching from the gardening and I feel quite tired so I am going to get my washing in and sit down with my book now.

It is 13 degrees here but there is quite a strong wind which keeps the temp feeling colder. I had a bit of a potter around the garden but there is not a lot needing doing at the moment. Just little bits here and there. I don't like gardening when it is windy.

I could do some H/W but it doesn't really need doing, I did a bit in the kitchen a couple of days ago so that is clean, I have done a load of washing but mostly I have pottered around on here. I have had my epson printer a long time and today, for the first time ever, it is telling me my maintenance box is full and to buy a new one. I see they are on Amazon and I looked at how to change it but it beats me so I am waiting to hear if my computer chap does it then I will buy one. It is a really good printer so don't really want to change it but I will wait and see if Dom thinks it is worth changing.

Thank you Ann for the photos. The camelia is such a pretty shade and looks strong and healthy.
We lost ours a few years back in the winter, which I was sorry about, as our children had gifted to us one wedding anniversary, as we had stayed at The Camelia Hotel on honeymoon.
Very bad riding on the horses.
Luckily the van driver was more considerate, as there was little room to avoid the riders being so far out into the road and close to the centre line.

A beautiful Spring day here, laptop is saying 12 degrees and mostly sunny, so that should help to dry our clay soil a bit. It's so cold and heavy out there in the back garden, but I want to get out there soon to keep on top of it before all the summer growth really takes off.

Good morning all

Our weather is much the same as yours AnnG. I haven’t stuck my nose outside yet but I can see it’s still quite breezy so it might be colder than it looks. I don’t have any plans for the day. Maybe I should try to get a bit done in the garden. OH is still hobbling and limping so we won’t be going out.

That camellia is a very pretty colour Ann and it looks a very healthy plant. Those riders were really discourteous. They could easily have gone single file and pulled over a little. The van driver was good to stop, not many would.

Morning all,

Nice sunny morning, it was a little misty first thing but that's all gone now .

Well I wonder if Miss Marple has solved the case today ,I'd like to see a photo of you with your Miss Marpls bicycle Ann :-D

Anng the soil makes your hands so cold when you weed this time of the year even with gloves .

We're off into town later need to go to the butchers and see Jake and get chickens ,sausages and mince .

Morning all,

Duller here tis morning and its the same temp as you Anng 7 degrees but the pc says strong gusty winds in two hours. Not a pleasent day to look forward to I think. Just the shop to do this morning and then its back to my miniatures as I seem to have been faffing aroud with the tudor man for long enough and want to do some painting now. I am going to attempt a Clarice Cliff milk jug and sugar bowl that I first made back in the 70's or 80's thing is they are so tiny I don't know if my old hands will actually hold them to paint. We'll see anyway I hav'nt tried get them oout of the moulds yet.

O its raining that horrid fine stuff that get everywhere. Nice......not

good morning all 7 degrees here and sunny but I thought rain was forecast, maybe it missed us.
That is a pretty Camelia Ann, is it to go in the ground or in a tub? They like Ericaceous soil don't they?
Nothing planned today, probably potter in the garden, hopefully the soil is warmimg up, hate weeding when the soil is so cold. Even with gloves it is unpleasant.

Yes she might have to set her alarm Mel! lol.

Yes, I did too Mel and I think most riders do try to. I don't think many realise they should stop if there isn't that 2 metres gap if a horse is coming towards them along a narrow road and that it doesn't just apply to overtaking them. I'll send a pic.

Miss Marple will have to get up earlier to see which car comes in the morning Ann.

I always pulle din to somewhere along the way if I had traffic behind me when I was out on a ride on my pony. Some riders would say horses were on the roads before cars so have the right to ride where they want. The girls round here always pull into single file if a car comes and I always give all horses and ponies a wide slow pass. We get lots round here as you can imagine. Lisa up the road and her mum both ride past us and Pam down the road too. Pam fell off her horse once when a car past too close and oh had to pick her up off the road and she was injured and badley shacken. She was no youngster but oh got her home safely and called an abulance.

Pc is saying its 9 degrees here now and the bitter wind has stopped.

There more moss on the nest today as I took BIL in there to see it and it has the hole for an entrance now. I must get a picture as its like a two storey town nest.

Had sasage sandwiches lunch time and now I am not hungry so I am going to have a bowl of rice pudding I think or just something light.

Afternoon All,

I slept past the time the car and paper arrived this morning so didn't see which car came! Miss Marple will have to do better tomorrow! :-) We get a discount on the paper Mel and the company that gives it arranges deliveries so we don't know if it comes from a shop. If needs be we will have to ring them. I'm not sure signs would do much good and we don't want our cars to be keyed by someone irritated by them.

Five years ago today, on my sister's 63rd birthday, we were at her funeral. It was very chilly but bright like today then. I never expected to outlive her with being 9 years older. .

We got up early and went to two garden centres to look at Camellias. They seem to be stocking more smaller varieties this year with smaller flowers, which are useful for smaller spaces or pots. I did find a nice one with bigger leaves and flowers, but hummed and ahhed when I saw the price. OH didn't though and told me to just get it so I did. I'll send a pic when I've downloaded it.

On the way there, we were travelling down a narrow road and came across two ponies being ridden two abreast at a walk the same way we were going. We had to stay behind them as the new rules this month mean you have to give them 2 metres space to go past, like with cycles and there wasn't room as they were straddling across the middle. They didn't move to single file, so after a couple of miles crawling along there was a queue of about 10 cars behind us. Then a big van came the other way and he had to pull up and stop. Luckily we were able to turn into the garden centre then. Having ridden on roads with my own ponies I wondered why they didn't attempt to go in single file, go at a trot or move off the road into one of the field gateways we passed and let the traffic pass by. It's what I would have done. I'd be tthe first to agree that motorists have no idea of the unpredictability of some horses and drive by them much too fast and too close, but there needs to be a bit of sensible give and take.

I suppose it's better the workmen are so willing and you get a good job done AnnG, but they should have tidied your tools away. I'm sure your grass will recover pretty quickly now Spring is on the way. What a nuisance your downstairs phone has gone wrong now. I hope you hear soon with a new appointment at Glos Royal as I expect that would be the best option of all for getting there. (edit............I now see you already have an appointment!)

It has been a beautiful looking day with blue skies and sunshine but, boy, there has been a strong, cold wind.

Oh dear Mandy, that poor pigeon but I suppose everything in nature has its place and all creatures have to find their food where they can. It’s a bit gruesome for the person who has to do the clearing up. Glad it wasn’t me. I can deal with furry things but I’m not good with feathery things. It sounds as though your dil made a bit of an effort for World Book Day. I expect Lewis enjoyed being Harry Potter. I was reading some letters in the paper recently from parents complaining about the cost of buying costumes for their children for World Book Day. But it’s so easy to cobble something together for pennies. I can remember my two, 50 years ago, when we were hard up, going as Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter. We just did a bit of adapting of clothes they already had, OH made a hat for our son out of cardboard painted black and I made daughter a pinny from an old, torn, white sheet and off they went happy as anything. It also reminded me of youngest granddaughter about 9 years ago forgetting to tell her Dad and stepmum that she needed a costume till she came home from school the day before the event. We were staying there so we all sat wracking our brains as to what she could go as with whatever was in the house when I suggested Lyra from His Dark Materials. I don’t know if you know these books but she only needed fairly ordinary clothes so we just sorted through her wardrobe. Son ran up the road to the charity shop and came back with a shoulder bag for 50p and she had a soft toy Meerkat so it got tucked in the bag with his head poking out and he became Lyra’s daemon, Pantalaimon. Took an hour to sort out and cost 50p.

You’ve had a lot done in your garden AnnG and Jake and his father will get everything back in order for you I’m sure. Grass is tough so I expect yours will recover OK. I hope the NHS staff can sort out an appointment for you at the hospital you want as soon as possible.

With the birds nest Mel I should just let the wrens and swallows sort themselves out. Perhaps they’ll operate some sort of birdy Airbnb, lol. I mentioned the other day that our electricity bill had gone down but I got that wrong. Sorry. I was sure OH told me it was the electricity that had gone down but looking online at our bank statement yesterday I see it was the water bill. That had gone down by about 20%.

We didn’t go to our coffee group yesterday morning. OH had woken at 3 am the night before with the sharpest, most severe pain in his leg. When I got up at 8 am he was up but still couldn’t put his foot to the ground and was hopping round the kitchen hanging on to the backs of chairs and the work surfaces. I wanted him to ring the doctor’s surgery but he wouldn’t. Eventually he agreed to ring 111. The person who answered the phone asked him a lot of questions and talked to him for quite a while before saying he would get a clinician to ring him back. This chap rang after about half an hour and asked all the same questions again but no one seems able to work out what has happened. Gradually, it eased a bit during the day so he could shuffle around but after a night in bed he was back to square one this morning. Now it is easier again. He is prone to severe cramp so the only thing we can think is that the muscle went into a really bad cramp and wouldn’t release or relax again.

Today, we had planned to go shopping, then OH was going to pick up the seats of our kitchen chairs which have been re-covered while I got my hair cut, but there’s no way he can walk around at the moment so I have had to do it all. The biggest problem was picking up the 4 seats. The shop had packed them all together in a huge slippery plastic bag which was a really awkward shape and size. The lady in the shop suggested I got my car and stopped outside on the double yellow line. That would have meant me walking back to the car park anyway, driving back to the shop, taking a chance on the traffic warden not coming by while I was on a double yellow and then having to go all round the one-way system to get back to where I started from to get home. I decided just to grit my teeth and carry them straight back to the car. I sure was glad when I got there. The pack was a bit weighty but not too bad. However it was so awkward to carry and I could really feel it pulling on my back. Never mind, I managed and we now have 4 new chair seats and a much lighter bank balance.

I see I have written half a book again. All I’m going to do for the rest of the day is get a meal ready and that’s going to be a really easy one. We’re having pizza, which I rarely have, and a big mixed salad. Enjoy the rest of the day folks and sleep well tonight.

EDIT: I see you now have your hospital appointment Ann. Mel, I hope all that bending down picking up branches isn’t hurting your hip too much.