General Chat

A very Happy Christmas to you all, I hope you have a great day tomorrow <3 <3

Afternoon All,

We, or rather OH, was up by 6.30am as he had a blood test booked for 7.40am. We both managed to get showered and hair washed, but it was bitterly cold with an icy wind when we stepped out. We fetched our papers next and were at the Farm shop as it opened to pick the Turkey Crown up and some eggs and apples. I was shocked at the Turkey Crown price for 6lb, just shy of £50 but read recently they were up in price by avout 30%. I must make some nice stock for soup with the leftovers this year!

I've felt shattered today as I was still awake at 4.00 am this morning when the local paper was delivered, so an early night for me tonight. OH did the veg and hoovered and the Turkey is ready to put in the oven which is going in tomorrow now. I had a panic as I couldn't find the roasting tin for it for a while and we were both searching cupboards and I thought I was going to have to use a large glass dish instead. Then I suddenly spotted it upside down on the worktop with the slow cooker sitting on it! That was supposed to be a temporary measure! I decided to get the Turkey ready then but had quite a game with the tinfoil and getting it to stay put under the rim of the tin. Then I picked the tin up and put it on the conservatory table where it was nice and cold. I then got lunch doing a traybake using up odds and ends and all was well till I got the plates out of the warming drawer and saw no tray for OH on the worktop. We both searched high and low for it several times but to no avail. I even picked the tin in the conservatory up to check it wasn't under there. We wracked our brains while we had lunch, convinced we were definitely losing the plot and then started looking even in the wardrobes to try and find it. We tried again in the conservatory and I picked the Turkey tin up again, but nothing under it, then some of the foil slipped and there the tray was!!! I'd managed to wrap the foil over the tray lip all round as well as the tin edge as the tin fit the tray so well!! What a good job I found it before I slid the plastic tray in the oven with the tin!! It would have melted and made such a mess to try and clean off. :-S OH was chuckling for ages. lol.

That was lucky you could use the two posies that didn't sell which saved you time today Mel. I hope you enjoy your meal with your new neighbours in their newly renovated house!

AnnG I remember you having a cough that lasted a while last Christmas so I hope you don't pick another one up this time and at the start of your holiday.

I hope your son manages an undisturbed lunch with you Gwyn. Are they all on call out or standby at these times I wonder. It must lift your spirits seeing the flowers in bloom..

Enjoy your time with your daughter Vera and don't forget to take your relish! It will be interesting to see how the little dogs are doing now too.

Best wishes to everyone for a lovely, enjoyable Christmas. :-D Not sure what may happen here with neighbours as there was an emergency ambulance at the other end of the close this morning when we went out.

Had a visit from youngest step granddaughter and her boyfriend. Had not met him before so that was nice. He seems to be a pleasant fellow.

Now waiting for grandson etc to arrive.

Been down the shop and picked up two posies not sold but that meant I did'nt have to do any for mum and oh's graves which was good as it gave me more time so I went down the churchyard and did those. Went to next door to Aaron and Beccy's and dropped off Winnie's present and a jar of chutney for Aaron and Beccy. Came home and did the chickens and I had an egg today!!

Then went to Em and Ed's and they were having lunch so I had a couple of small sausage rolls and a cuppa with them. My presents to them are always opened on Christmas Eve so I watched them open them and then came home corned the chickens so I don't have to go round to them anymore and now I am going to have a nice shower and get ready to go to Janine's and Simon's for dinner and the evening.

Hope you don't get the cold this Christmas Anng and yes you can peel the pots and put them in water in the fridge change the water and cook as normal.

Gwyn we've both been going here there and everywhere this morning. Hope you have a lovely Christmas and a healthy new year.

That applies to all of you ladies on here.

Has anyone ever peeled potatoes and left them in water overnight before cooking? Are they ok?

How sad Ann for your neighbours. Especially for her. Not good any time of year but these things always seem worse at Christmas.

Vera I hope that your back is easier this morning. Is it today yo are going to daughters.

Gwyn, do slow down a bit. Have a lovely Christmas with family.

I had a bad cold and cough last Christmas so am hoping to stay cold free at least over the Christmas period.

Morning all,
Nice bright sunny morning but it felt much colder when I opened the door for max to go out .
The turkey crown is out of the fridge coming up to room temperature for a couple of hours before it goes in the oven .
Just having a cuppa then I'll get in the shower.

Gwyn I hope your son doesn't get a call out so you can all enjoy your lunch together ,what a lovely idea for the foremen to deliver the presents very exciting for the little ones. Happy Christmas to you too have a lovely time with your family.

Oh Anng you don't want to catch their colds ,let's hope they're not coughing to much near you .

Vera hope you have a lovely time at your daughters with the family ,safe journey today.

Ann thats so sad about your neighbour especially at Christmas.
This shop lifting seems to be getting worse ,they said the other day that someone went into our Greg's and just filled a bag and walked out bold as brass.

Right better get on lots to do today.

Good morning everyone.
I hope you manage to ward off those cold germs AnnG.
You don't need that to spoil your stay.
I've managed to fight off one I had coming and it's virtually gone now without causing much bother.

I'm here, there and everywhere today, so I will take the opportunity now to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a bright and healthy New Year.

Good morning Al still quite dark here and I am not dressed yet. Have to wash my hair in a minute. Grandson and wife and baby are expected today. Apparently they have colds so we have their germs to look forward to. I slept well last night which was good. Nothing much planned for today.

Morning girls,

Sky looks cloudy and its 6 degrees and pc says it feels like 5 degrees. I think its going to be cloudy most of the day but I hope the rain holds off.

Lots to do today so I must get on.

Hope you all slept well or got enough to get you through the day.

Evening everyone.
What a sad time for your neighbours Annx. Such a worry for their family too, because the surviving partner will need so much support too.

The shops were surprisingly OK today.
Yes, there were plenty of people out shopping, especially in the supermarkets for their cheaper veg. but it wasn't manic or long queues.
The wind was biting though, so with forecast of them getting stronger, we made our trip to the cemetery today rather than tomorrow, as that is on a bleak hillside, at the best of times. Lovely to see some early primroses out on the banks there, as we walked back to the car.
Tomorrow, I have a telephone appointment from the team at the hospital, as planned on my last visit there. A letter came stating it was an appointment face to face, at the hospital at 9a.m. My daughter phoned and questioned this and was told it was in fact a telephone call, but strangely there has been no text reminder, as we usually have, so I hope we are not hanging around for too long tomorrow just waiting, as we want to go to other daughter's house to prep. veg. ready for our Christmas Day meal.
We have all got allocated items to bring to contribute to our meal, but son might get called out to work, so we want to be on top of preparation, in case we have to take on other duties, if son has to rush off. It will be fine. We have had to be flexi over the years to fit in with Fire service shifts and we are all adults, so we will just eat, when we can all be together.
I think the local fire station was doing a Christmas present drop in our road earlier.People can pay a small fee to have a present delivered today by the firemen. We saw blue lights suddenly flashing and daughter saw fire car pull away from a house, where a little child lives,so they were probably excited.

Forgot to say, that when I was on a different card-delivery walk locally,I saw 4 more daffodils in full bloom, a camelia bush had flowers out on the side sheltered by the bungalow and there were many flowers still out in the gardens including marigolds, lots of gazanias, a penstomen and one plant of love-in-the-mist all braving the colder weather with many beautiful roses in bud or blooming. Our area gets cold winds, but rarely the really cold temperatures of elsewhere in the country or even in Kent.

This is a flying visit just to say hallo. I have read all your posts and my thoughts are with that poor couple that live near you Annx.

We had an enjoyable time at our neighbours yesterday evening and, although the invitation was from 7-9 pm, no-one left till about 11 pm. During the day my back was aching and it got worse and worse so last night I couldn't sleep at all and I've been groaning and shuffling about all day. Just what I need at Christmas. I've managed to get done most of the jobs I needed to do. The only thing I haven't managed to do is the ironing and that can wait till next week. I'm now going to pay the paper bill online, get OH to put some more drops in my eye and then go to bed with a wheatbag, a hot water bottle and some painkillers and hope to get some sleep.

I hope to be able to get back on the thread in the next day or so to wish you a happy Christmas but in case I don't make it, I hope you all have a wonderful day on the 25th with lots of good food, a few nice presents and some good company.

O my gosh what terrible thing to happen at Christmas. God bless them both.

Afternoon All,

Thank you Gwyn. I had been looking online and read about the cat litter idea and it was what I was going to try next as I could see it would work. When I looked in a garden centre the other day in the pets' section and saw the size of the bags of cat litter I thought I would try the salt first as we don't have a cat and the bags were quite big! I'm keeping it in mind though so thank you for mentioning it.

Mel I use Temu and Shein sites as they are very similar and both chinese, but they seem to have been in the headlines about the labour they use. They sell things you don't see elsewhere, their service is very good and I have had no trouble getting refunds on returned goods. I like the sound of the pads you and Mandy have mentioned so will pop in our local Aldi near the cinema first thing tomorrow and if they don't have them will order on Temu later. We are collecting the Turkey so will be up early as OH has a blood test at 7.40 am!

OH met a neighbour on the way back from his walk and apparently there's sad news about the couple who moved into Jean's old bungalow and had it all renovated. He'd had a stroke before they moved in and then had another but seemed to recover well, but then she had a stroke about the same time as OH had his troubles earlier this year. The bungalow was put up for sale then to move nearer their daughter, but yesterday the sale board was taken down apparently and the poor man has Leukemia and only days to live.

Yesterday when OH walked to the village shop a man was effing and blinding to someone on his phone. While the member of staff was dealing with someone collecting an Amazon parcel he picked up a few goods off the shelves and walked out without paying as bold as brass!

On a brighter note we had a visitor in the garden at lunchtime we have never ever seen in the garden or field at the back before! A handsome, male Pheasant was strutting about pecking here and there. I will send a not so good photo as it was difficult to focus on him.

AnnG the curtains are made to measure, but not as expensive as they have a sale at the moment. I used to make all my own curtains years ago, but OH uses the dining table now and I can't kneel on the floor now to cut, pin etc.

Better nip to the shop now before it's too dark.

Morning all,
Dull here no sun today but at least its dry , just wrapped some presents just two more to do ,also had the meat delivery yesterday so I'm now cooking the ham and later the beef ,then tomorrow I'll cook the turkey ,it all saves on the day .

I told son about the moisture pads in aldi and he said he never saw any so they might have sold them all or perhaps not all aldi have the same stock in ,depends on the size of the store perhaps .
I must admit I hate it when the windows are so wet in the car even the blower on takes a while to dry it ,I use one of those microfiber cloths as they soak it up a bit ,I think years ago it was a chamileather ( don't think that's the right spelling but you know what I mean ) that dad used .

Morning girls,

Dull and cloudy this moring and its 8 degrees. Overslept after yesterdays day out.

Going back to the salt and issue of the damp windows. I bought two moisture pads from Temu and have one in the car and one in the bedroom. when the spot on them turns pink you pop them in the microwave for a minuet or two. well worth their money but look through all of them as some are cheaper than others. I paid £5 something for two. You have to spend £15 for free delivery but there are lots of things on Temu for the house and garden and clothes and goodness knows what.

I have bought their fleecy tops as they are so warm and cheap if they only last the winter I'm happy at £6 or £7 a go in the clearance.

...Just quickly, in case Annx looks in before shopping....

ALDI had small size car dehumidifier 'pads' this week, as one of their centre aisle items....may be rechargeable?
Elder daughter made herself some dehumidifiers for the car and elsewhere by putting cat litter in an old thick sock and sewing it closed.
Would salt hold the water enough?

Hopefully bbl.

Good morning all. We have to go into Workington around 0930 so I dare not go back to sleep. It is pick up the Turkey time. Hoping as we are in the early slot it won’t be too crowded.

Ann hope you can get your curtains sorted. I assume they are ready made??

Yes I washed my hair over the bath at home before we came away and I have managed it in the shower here while keeping my left foot forward of the main jet of water so it barely got wet.

Evening All,

My word it was chilly this morning! I am fed up with condensation on my car windscreen and also the bright sun making it hard to see through when it's dry, so I gave it a good wipe with the special cloth I have, but could hardly reach across and I'm trying a tip I read about by putting a small container of salt in the car to absorb moisture. If it works I'll try it on the bedroom window sills.

Vera I admire and wish I had your energy to attend and host these dos with so much else to do this time of the year. I mentioned it to OH and he said we must be wimps! :-) I think he's right! I keep forgetting to ask you whether the horse is rideable yet? I'm hoping to see a pic of you astride it one day. ;-) I got my mum to get on my pony once (and only once ) when I was a teenager. She thought I was just going to walk her round their big garden, but I took her through the gate and up to the village a quarter of a mile away and into the village square surrounded by cottages. She had a skirt on, not trousers, so was laughing and trying to keep it over her knees and not see anyone she knew. She talked about it for years afterwards. Will you be taking a little present for your daughter's new dogs?

I wonder what decoration you will make icing your cake Mandy? Mine were rough snow scenes at first for many years, but I made a slope with a toboggan going down it one year and the thick icing for the slope was impossible to bite. My best effort was making a poinsetta flower on the top by colouring marzipan.

Mel it sounds like you had a nice time in the shops looking round and bought quite a few things. We were going to go to Aldi early this morning but gave it a miss after OH had a bad night with the head pain he gets sometimes. We might do it tomorrow though.

AnnG I hope the wound settles down soon and gives you less trouble. It's good there's no infection though and it doesn't stop you doing anything. It's lovely riding through lovely scenery isn't it and the sunshine makes it all the better I hope you managed to wash your hair ok.

Well I've finally decided on some curtains with thermal linings I like for in here online, so am going to order them when I've double checked the measurements.

Lost the lot again.

Hi girls,

Been out all day as I went to Morrisons early as I wanted to get back before dark and go to Lidl too. Had a lovely look around and back and forth in the shop cos I son't know where everyhing is now. I have no shopping this week cos I did'nt book a slot but I like to go and have a look around before Chirstmas and I got a couple more bits for little Winnie next door and Em's boys. Bought some small joints of lamb and pork loin as I can cook those when Stu comes and I like to see the meat I am buying in the way of pork and lamb. I shan'nt need any shopping next week either. Christmas has come on funny days this year right in the middle of the week. I bought some brown parcel paper in LIdl and when I got to the till the girl on there said it was buy one get one free so I chose a Christmas one with cones and greenery on.

Bit tired now as I have not donr that big shop or walked around so much for ages. Got chicken bacon and leek pasty for dinner tonight might do a few chips might not.

Not really any change in my leg Vera, it is just a wound about 1.5 cams in diameter, scabbed over but will take a long time to heal, it is uncovered during the day but covered at night. It is very tender and painful if touched but otherwise is just ‘there’. My foot is still a bit swollen which makes shoes a bit painful but it has not stopped me doing anything and as far as I can tell there is not any infection.

Maybe with the hosting of a get together, the others in the close think if they offer it steps on yours or your neighbours toes. I and before T’s death, we are always away the eeek before zchristmas so usually miss any invites. The only time one was going to be before I went away, the person giving it caught a bug so it was cancelled. Anyway enjoy the evening.