General Chat

Yet another wet, gloomy day. Lucky you to have a rainbow Mel. That must mean there’s a bit of sunshine in amongst all the rain; I wish the sun would make its way over here.

I hope the glass engraving exhibition was good Ann. I expect you’re having your lunch while I’m typing this. That’s a pity about your left side hearing aid. I hope the problem can be quickly fixed when you go for your audiology appointment. You are right – of course life will carry on without a car but it will be restricted. Our friends are nearly all our age so either only driving locally or giving up driving altogether. We have often been the ones giving the lifts to others. Also several of them have family close by so there is usually a son or daughter available for things like hospital appointments. To be fair to her our daughter has always said that we can call on her to drive us anywhere but she lives 25 miles away so we can’t expect her to keep running up to us every time we want to go anywhere. We know giving up the car has got to come sooner or later but we’ve always been independent people so it’s hard. We will miss going to places like Anglesey Abbey which we used to go to 3 or 4 times a year but there is no way of getting there by public transport.

Annx, I think I knew that it was Ankylosing Spondylitis that OH has but it had gone completely from my mind. Our breakdown cover is Volvo Assist which we get free if our car is serviced by Volvo. We’ve used it twice in the 18 years we have had the car and they have been very good. At the moment OH is waiting for a response to his email and is wondering if they will bother to respond at all. Regarding the horse, I am not sure of the situation at the moment. I must ask granddaughter. She and her partner moved a little while back and the last I heard was that the horse was still in the original livery stables which were now a distance from granddaughter’s new home. I know she was sent somewhere else for some professional training.

OH has just called out that lunch is ready so I’ll post this and come back later to tell you how I got on with my glasses.

I have a wonderful rainbow right over the garden to the north.

Morning Anng and all,

Dull and sreary again here this morning and pc says rain coming so no change there then and its 8 degrees.

Have a lovely time at Wallsworth House, and what a shame your left hand hearing aid is playing up but I do hope you will manage ok today.

I have a sore gum this morning and I had it yesterday too. My bottom denture seems to be rubbing on it a lot.

good morning all 7 degrees here at 0700 so not too cold, probably wet but too dark to tell. Being picked up at 10.30 as three of us are going to Wallsworth House (Nature in Art museum) to see a glass engraving exhibition and then have lunch. Should be interesting.

I am struggling a bit as my left hearing aid stopped working yesterday. Strange as when I went to audiology before Chhristmas it was for the right hearing aid problems. Nothing I can do except hope the right hand one keeps going. I have an aufiology appointment next Friday (13th!!) for a hearing test so hope they can also find what is wrong with the L/H one. There is actually a very small amount of natural hearing in that ear.

Ann that is a shame about the factory shop, as it is with all these shops when they finally give up. That jacket sounded a bargain and a shame it was not your size.

Vera, that is sad that you have lost another friend. Yes it gets a bit scary when you get to my age. I try not to dwell on it but sometimes the thought crosses my mind when I go to bed ('I wonder if I will see the morning?'). I do try not to dwell on it.

Ah that is not what you want now is it? For your car to start having problems. That is a hard decision to have to make if the problem proves to be expensive, or worse. Your OH is going to fight against having to give it up. I can understand how you feel but I think, as you obviously know, the decision will have to come from him. There is life to be had beyond the car but it does take a bit of planning and help from friends.
Hope all goes well with getting your glasses.

Vera he has a different arthritis called Ankylosing Spondylitis that mostly affects spine, neck and pelvis. This will be self injections from what she said and he hates having any kind of injections or needles. This was due to further changes on the MRI scan done last year. He will be meeting up with a retiring member of his staff at her retirement do on Saturday and last time they all met up she was telling him about her husband's similar treatment which didn't sound great with the side effects and weakens your immune system. OH's doctor was more reassuring about that as he said that because your immune system is overactive with the condition, the treatment should be making it more normal again rather than weaken it. It's good your OH got another appointment as quickly as I thought it may be a few weeks.

My memory is bad too as I remember now you choosing some cheaper frames as you will need more glasses once the other eye is done. What a nuisance about the car playing up now. If you have breakdown recovery that includes home recovery, it might be worth giving them a ring. Ours covers breakdowns at your home, so if yours does they might take it on their truck to the garage if you say it is unsafe to drive? It would save some of the cost if they do. I know what you mean about losing friends and aquaintances. OH had two phone calls this week in connection with a meeting he's going to next week, one to say a colleagues husband had collapsed and was in intensive care and another whose husband literally dropped dead unexpectedly last Sunday. Neither were elderly either.

I keep meaning to ask whether the horse is ok to be ridden yet?

AnnG, I have been keeping an eye on the book thread and saw the latest posts from you and Tabitha but I haven't got around to adding a post. I'll put something up in the next day or so.

You did well to get those sausages Mel. I like the sound of your creamy leeks recipe as well. I've poured a cheese sauce made with milk over leeks and put them in the oven but I've never done it with double cream so I might give it a try some time.

I wonder what treatment the nurse will sort out for OH, Annx. My memory is getting bad these days; is it osteo or rheumatoid arthritis your OH has? One of my friends with bad RA has to self inject to help keep things under control. I have already chosen my frames, I was waiting for the finished product to be returned to the optician. I say "chose" but actually I said I wanted the cheapest frames that were suitable for me as the chances are I'm going to have to get more new ones in a few months. So you now have your waste food caddy. We haven't heard when our extra bins/caddys are coming but we were told it would be 2026.

My OH has heard from the hospital with a new date of next Thursday for the procedure he couldn't have on Monday when the computers were all down, so not too long to wait.

Just 6 of us at our coffee meet-up this morning but it was all very pleasant. Just as we got home my phone rang and it was another friend telling me of the death of a lady who lived round the corner from us and for donkey's years was a member of the small club we go to. She didn't drive so we usually picked her up for any club meetings and outings etc. I think she was in her late 80s and apparently died in her sleep. It's sad when you see your contemporaries dying around you and your friendship group shrinking.

I can't believe it was last February that all our problems with plumbers, loft boarders, painters etc started. Where has that year gone? Our troubles haven't ended yet. Now it's the car. At the end of last year we had a bit of trouble with the clutch and took it in to the Volvo place. They couldn't find a lot wrong with it and maybe just tightened something up as it seemed better after that but it's getting bad again now, so bad that OH thinks it is dangerous. He's been ringing Volvo this afternoon and keeps getting a message that they can't come to the phone and to try later or email them, so he has sent an email and told them it will need a truck or something to collect it because he isn't prepared to drive it to them. We're waiting to hear from them but if we are going to have to pay for a vehicle to collect it and then have a new clutch it will be expensive. It is an old car and I tentatively suggested that this might be the time to give up the car but my lord and master was having none of that.

Of course, I now have to get to the opticians by bus tomorrow. The online timetables are a nightmare to work out but I think I can get a bus that will just get me there a bit early but you can bet I'll leave the opticians just too late for a bus back and have to wait an hour for the next one.

Right, I had better put the oven on to heat up and start cooking. Meat pie tonight.

Afternoon All,

Very windy and rainy first thing but now it's less windy with a bit of drizzle.
I was surprised you knew about the stabbing in the city as they happen so often there now, but it being a student who was killed made it more shocking. It happened quite close to where I took OH to the hospital eye clinic the other day. OH was at a meeting in the city, but not near where the cordons were.

He's just had a phone call from the hospital nurse about his appointment next week and it's with her not the rheumatologist. Despite having less pain lately it seems the MRI scan he last had shows the arthritis is active and needs treatment and she is going to talk to him about it next week.

I'm glad you found the kitten Mel. I wonder what you are doing with those? Those sort of carpets are a nightmare when you drop small beads too! I have those lamb shanks too and add my own gravy to the sachet sauce as well. I must try doing them in the microwave though as I usually do them in the little oven and the microwave would be quicker.

I don't use softener for clothes either Vera and AnnG. I've read it makes fabric more flammable and I don't like all the chemicals in it. I tried some microfibre towels during the pandemic and am still using them. You need to pat yourself dry rather than rub, but they do dry quickly after washing which was why I tried them. OH still prefers ordinary towels though.

Good luck sorting your new specs tomorrow Vera. I hate choosing them and take ages! Your artist speaker makes some interesting sounding things and the invite to her garden should be good. I sympathise with you re the kitchen design. First OH built my kitchen in at my previous house and I got him to move the sink from under the kitchen window (I know most people like to look out of it at the sink) and to make a worktop upstand about 4 inches high all along the back of the worktops to stop dirty grout with all the wiping. It was tiled down to the upstands. He also lowered everything a couple of inches for me being on the shorter side which made rolling pastry easier! This kitchen has the sink under the window and the window gets splashes from the sink on it all the time and I have to stand on something and half sit on the worktop each side to reach it to clean. The grouting and sealant behind the taps get grubby and the sealant needs redoing. These are problems I never had at my old house and I have thought about sticking a sheet of cardboard behind the taps when OH washes up the things in daily use.

It's good your BP and blood tests were all good AnnG and you got some good savings on your purchases on your trip out. My foot was ok for the trip to the factory shop yesterday (you can park right outside in their carpark) so OH drove me there. Well what a shock as we walked inside as two thirds of it was empty! Some, but not all the things were being sold off and I was tempted by a grey and black waterproof anorak with detachable black gilet inside, but decided it was too bulky for me with the gilet and too big for me without. The temptation was that it was reduced from an original price of £225 to £35! Popular sizes in things had all been sold and I wouldn't get anything electrical as you couldn't take it back if they close. No socks like I wanted, just bedsocks left so all I got was knickers and some fat balls for the birds as they love theirs.

Mandy I'm glad you have started to improve now. Taking the sample sounds a bit complicated till you know doesn't it. I bet a lot of other folk have to ring up. They should put an instruction with them. I thought about all my odd bits of things too when you said about the school wanting some. When I did those little craft classes at the village hall that time we would all bring our bits and bobs to add to the big stash for us all.

I'm glad you are back in the hearing world Gwyn and I love to see the catkins appear too. I remember when I was little mum taking me in a shop that had those screw on cups where you put your money and them whizzing up to the ceiling and out of sight before coming back with your change. It seemed like magic to me.

We have just had the new waste caddy bins delivered. Everything in life seems to be getting more complicated with more rules. It could be a smelly summer!

Better empty the washer now and get a COT methinks.

I keep meaning to say I have had a few eggs in January and one in Feb but today I had two!!!!! Hope they will lay ok this year.

Mandy I may even find some crackers somewhere.

Awful at the moment with ITV and sports.
Dry here at the moment but very dull. I just ventured out to look for snowdrops in the garden and pulled a few weeds to find them it is chilly but not as cold as it has been and there is damp in the air.

I did walk down to Iren's with two bags of charity stuff and it was dry then.

Afternoon all,

Another dreary cold day ,we went shopping and I posted Mels card to make sure it has plenty of time to get there ,by the time we came out of the shop it was drizzling and its been like that since ,we should be in for some heavier showers later.

Mel that sounds a nice late Christmas meal your doing tonight I hope you both enjoy it .

Vera hope you've enjoyed your coffee meet up ,how many turned up today .

Nice easy meal tonight as we had some sausage casserole left from yesterday so we're having that with a jacket potato.

No Emmerdale or corrie tonight ,rugby's on instead .

Vera have you been on the book thread lately?

more or less what I said Mel!! But thier Dad had apparently fixed it ok.

Trust boys!!

thanks Mel that sounds nice, I have made a note.

7 degrees here. Just had my plumber fit a new toilet seat for me. He also checked the cistern was working ok as Grandson had to fix it when he and the boys were here. One of the boys jammed the mechanism.

Its now 10 degrees and pc says rain showers.

Creamy leeks

Gently fry the leeks in a little olive oil after cutting them into shortish lenths.

Place all in a small roasting tin and sprinkle with pepper and pour over double cream

and sprinkle grated cheese on top to your taste pop in a hot oven till cooked and bubbling.

Went up the post van to get some money out and popped in the shop for sausages and the first pack I picked up had no price label on it so I took the other one and went to the counter and said I'll have that one please putting down the one with no price on it. She turned it over and took the priced pack from me and charged me for that one and said take the other one too. I was delighted a free 12 pack of chipolats.

Its also raining like anything here and it started just as I got in the car to go up the village with no coat on so I got a bit wet.

Its now 9 degrees and grey.

sounds like a lovely meal Mel. What is your recipe for creamy leeks please.

I am afraid the long term weather forecast I saw on TV yesterday said rain well into next week. We can only hope for a few breaks in this horrible weather I think.

I was wrong when I said earlier that it was 7 degrees. 7 is the warmest it’s going to get today. At the moment it’s only 5 :-(

Your meal with Stu tonight sounds tasty Mel. Enjoy.

Morning girls,

Sunny at the mo out the back to the south but grey out the front to the north and its 8 degrees and pc is telling me rain within the hour. Are we ever going to get a nice day without wind, rain or hail ?

I have Stu coming for dinner tonight and I am doing roast chicken. I have a nice chciken crown and I'm doing my creamy leeks roasties, carrots and broc. I may even do pigs in blankets and make it a bit like the Christmas dinner we did'nt have together. First I need to do a good clear up fo the kitchen table where I work on the miniatures.